


Patient Zero - The Black Cat And The Blue Soul

by BBHolly



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Depression, Everyone Has Issues, F/F, Fluff and stuff, Multi, My first time writing a story, My story has plot holes Im sorry, Papyrus x mettaton somewhere, Please dont hurt me if I don't get everything 'down' right, Reader Has Issues, Reader Is Not Frisk, SANS IS A BIPOLAR BITCH WITH HIS EMOTIONS IM SORRY, Sans Has Issues, Undertale Monsters - Freeform, attempted suicide, neko reader - Freeform, sans x reader, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-05-25 14:10:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 48,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6198046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BBHolly/pseuds/BBHolly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Normal was far from what the hell you were. Right now your a 16 years 'human' girl, homeless, you're on the run - not only that - but you've found yourself entangled in a group of monsters, and one certain skeleton who doesn't seem to like you. Or atleast that's what it seems like at first. Will you manage to survive in this crazy world? Do you even want to? There's only one way to know isn't there?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm BB, and right now, I'm editing this. I've switched the beginning bit, so now she's running away for a different reason. If there are traces of the FIRST ONE ((which is her being on the run from the government)) PLEASE point them out so I can correct / remove them. Thanks for reading, i hope you enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This is my first reader-insert story! I'm BB, by the way. Nice to meet you all! Please comment and do the things if you feel like I deserve it or if you wanna leave me helpful advice. It'd be much appreciated!

Ever since your 7th birthday, you know somethings been misplaced within. You couldn't exactly place what it was, but the sudden headaches, the fact that no matter how much you bit your nails they were still growing too long, the fact that you could jump about incredibly quickly, or anything else for that matter gave it away soon enough. 

Adopted at the age of 2; and thus never knew you were adopted until you found a note at the bottom of the staircase with your suitcases, packed with all your stuff. You had come back from school alone that day, your adoptive parents and brother had all gone out without you, and you were told that someone would be coming over to the house to take you back to 'the nice house'. Their reasons were unclear. Just that, you weren't 'like them' and that you weren't the child they wanted their son to grow up around. Your adoptive brother, Kyle, probably forgot about you; he was 3 years older than yourself, making him 10 while you on the other hand were 7. You spent my birthday in the 'nice house' but by that point you'd been there a week.

Anyone could tell that place was a bit bigger than just a house, and it certainly wasn't nice. Homely, sure. Nice? No way in hell. Unless it was hell, which it seemt like. Ever since you were returned, nobody wanted you. Over time, you became cold, and most of the time whenever adoptive families were brought up you were completely missed off their radar as an adoptable child or somehow you'd manage to slink away into the shadows quite quickly. And now here you are, standing in front of your mirror at the sweet age of 14, and freaking out a little bit.

For the last 3 years, you've developed little bumps on your skull, and over time they've been getting bigger. You kinda stopped checking them after a while, but had to start wearing a hat to disguise them. Every now and then you'd feel them twitch slightly whenever someone came close to you, or if there were loud noises. Or if you managed to spill water all over yourself, then you'd be jumping all over the place. 

You had considered what's seemingly obvious multiple times, but who would believe that? Yeah, okay, so now, it might not be so crazy, but seriously. Yes, as you look at yourself in the mirror, you can see 2 black, seemingly impossibly crafted, cat ears. And if you turn around, a long black tail stretched out behind you. The tail was new : not so new, but it was certainly new. You stare back at yourself, with sharp eyes look curious as if they were a completely separate person to yourself. 

A freaking cat girl. Yeah, surreeee. How can this even be possible? Welp, as much as thinking would be a fantastic option, you ARE 20 minutes late for school; and to waste more time would be very bad. Besides, nobody has to know your - this. Really, you should be more surprised, but since that day, something inside has been reluctant to reach out to anyone. Occasionally, you would wonder why. Maybe cause the only people you trusted threw you out and didn't even give a good bye, just packed you up off and sent you running. You keep thinking to yourself as you quickly brush what hair you could around your ears, before getting into your uniform. 

You throw the door in as you finish tucking in your tail and then your shirt over it for a safe measure, running downstairs. Quickly, you grab your bag as you slip on your shoes; leaving without pausing or yelling out to say goodbye to any residence, they wouldn't care anyways. 

A black cat, a loner. Thats what you were. Thats what you were always going to be. Right?


	2. Leaving.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we begin the madness.

 

A small, barely 18 year old mess of a girl, running down the street. That's you, ducking into alleyways and taking shortcuts every which way you can. You can't stay here. You just....can't. 

A letter, yes, not a text message, or an email - a letter, came for you. And in it, were the words of a true monster. But now, was not the time to think about him. 

After a solid 30 minutes of running, out of breath, tired, and thirsty you could hear the buses around the corner. Right now; it didn't matter what bus you got on, all you need is SOME bus, that takes you somewhere not here. Looking at the routes, you see the buses currently available, not wanting to wait around long you searched the schedule for the one with the longest route. "Bus route 27....Mt.Ebbott." 270 miles. You mumbled under your breath as you walked down the steps to the station underneath the bus station. Would it be better to take a train or a bus? A bus would take 7 hours, while a train could take 3-4. A bus was cheaper though.... Looking around the empty underground train station, your ears twitch, and you can smell....pastries.

Glancing around, you notice a cafe. Hurriedly, you search for your spare change in your pocket, pulling out 3 pound coins. You walk into the cafe, quaint, small and empty - bar a tired looking worker behind the counter. On the menu you spotted a tuna sandwich, and quickly bought it, as you heard the sound of a mans' voice. Rushing out the cafe, you hurried back up the stairs. " MOUNT EBBOTT! VALLEY! FINAL CALL!" You headed towards the voice, keeping your eyes low, and quickly board the bus. The fare is £23.50.

You pay the money, and the bus driver eyes you up and down as you search for a seat. There's, quite a lot of options. You choose one on the left, seat 16, and slump back into the slightly uncomfortable chair, sighing. You stare at the scenery outside for a long time, but soon; the city lights and cars trickle down to darkness, and the orange glow hovering in the air dissipates, leaving you to look up at the bright white moon, the only other light for you apart from the dim bus lights. You had left your phone, everything they could track you with. Stupid, silly, you know. Completely absurd, you know. You know it all seems unbelievable, but hey...if monsters were real, then a cat girl can be real too.

I mean, it wasn't exactly too absurd either. The world was going mad, and so what does cat girls have to change about the situation? You couldn't tell if your existence was a comical joke for the masses, or if it were some kind of sick cruel experiment. Whatever it was, whatever your purpose was; it didn't matter now. You felt your eye lids becoming heavy as you leaned against the cold and smooth surface of the glass window.

\------

You don't know what time it is, but by the time your fully awake again the sun is just on the horizon, and you can't be further than 30 minutes away from your destination. You remember there's nobody else on the bus but the driver, checking your bag and re-adjusting your hat. It hadn't slid off, so the driver couldn't have seen the ears. Luckily. You breathe a sigh of relief, but with a small sense of paranoia in your head...what if one of your ears slipped out under the cap while you slept? Would he tell someone if he saw? Would he have noticed if it did? You barely noticed small lights beyond the horizons line, as the small town came to view.

Slowly, you noticed you were at your destination. The bus eventually stopped, and you quickly jumped off the bus, nodding a thank you to the bus driver. You kept your eyes low once again, so as to make sure he would barely remember your face - just to be safe. You walked off in a random direction, and slowly thoughts began to fill up your seemingly empty mind,. There's a lot of things you could do now. A lot a lot of things. But what would you do? Well, first of all, you need to find somewhere to sleep. Cursing slightly, you regret being phone less, as you would've probably connected to some random cafe internet and googled it. Better safe than sorry though.

 

It boggled you, what you'd been through in the last couple of days. First of all, the strange men turning up to the orphanage, and speaking to you. So official. So...cold. They felt so dead inside, their voices...just thinking about it sent shivers down your spine. They never gave you specifics, just that you were the patient zero to some...weird drug, that affected you and made you have some weird specialties. As you sat in the chair, you saw them eyeing your nails, long and perfect. In truth, you'd been biting them for the majority of the day, but then they were perfect again. You felt your eyes twitching every now and then in that meeting room, not sure if you were angry, confused, scared or all of them at once.

You spotted a cafe, and in response to your sighting, your stomach growled in response. So you quickly headed inside, not really looking up at the cashier as you ordered a bacon sandwich and a coffee. You paid the money, and was told that your order would be delivered to your table. You turned away and sat at a table that was out of sight of most of the cafe; or as out of sight as a table could be.

Going back to your previous thoughts, you began to think of the monsters that came out of the mountain not all too long ago now. They were trapped underneath the surface for being different, for being something other than human, while still being as intelligent as a human. Did that make you a monster too? You weren't human, you may have been born human, but you were changed, and human you no longer were. A human and cat hybrid, that was you. So were you part human, part monster, or human with a physical contortion, or possibly just a monster. A freak of nature that was never supposed to happen? Yeah, that seemt more like you. A freak of nature.

You decide, maybe thinking about this now isn't the best time. Yeah, it was a lot of information to absorb, you were kinda on the run from the military now, but you need to figure out how to keep being on the run, how to not just curl up and die like....like a stray cat, which is what you kinda were.

First of all, you needed a place to stay. So after eating, you would have to set off to look around for any apartment buildings....or empty alleys, if there were any comfortable though. Not that it would have to come to that, but cats...they didn't need much to be happy. Turns out, it was the same for you; you could rough it up for a couple of nights, maybe even weeks if need be, you knew how to look after yourself, and apart from that little falling asleep thing on the bus, you were pretty alert when it came to sleeping.

One little noise could startle you, after all. Not like you wouldn't have all the time in the world to get away though. Your cat instincts, they were on point. Whatever they gave to you, they must have overdosed you on, cause your instincts were much more advanced than any other cat you'd seen around your previous neighbourhood. You wouldn't be going back there any time soon though; you could assure yourself on that much.

You were snagged out your thoughts by a voice, and a clinking noise. You jumped slightly as your plate landed on the table, and you looked up at the waiter, who just grinned up at you. "Thanks for ordering my food!" They said cheerily, and loudly as well. You smiled back at them slightly too, not a very genuine one, but one you'd gotten used to pulling by this point, for prides' sake. "Thanks for the food uh..." you looked at their name plate. "Undyne." You said, and she grinned at you more, and slapped you on the back full heartedly. "Dont worry about it!" Your ears twitch as she talks ever so slightly, and again you pull the smile. She turns away, and you turn to your food. It looks delicious.

You quickly pick up the sandwich, and dig your sharp teeth into it. It's delicious, and you wolf it down quickly without thinking. Before you know you've finished it, and you sip on your hot coffee, savouring its bitter taste. That'd get you the energy you needed for the rest of the day. The waiter was nice. Also green, and blue. And with an eyepatch. Wait, green and blue? You think about the waiter, and then you realise - that was a monster. You just spoke to a monster. One of those from the mountain. You stop drinking your coffee and think about that.

You just talked to a monster, like it was nothing! Crap, did you screw up or something? She didn't seem insulted, which was good. Her food was good, she was cool, if not a bit bashful with all the....hitting you on the back and all. But they were a nice monster. Undyne. "What a nice name." You breathed out, as you heard a chair being pulled up nearby. Looking to your left, Undyne was back. Why?

"O-Oh, hi." You stutter slightly, looking at Undyne once again. Yeah, they were pretty. Though, you didn't know if their eyepatch fitted their outfit, but hey - who were you to judge? What you were in wasnt exactly spectacular. "Hey!" She grins at you, and you look back at her confused. "Oh, yeah - crap sorry. Your new 'round here, right?" You just nod at her. Was this a town where everyone knew everyone? That might make it a bit difficult for you to go unnoticed. Especially if this Undyne had already sparked up a conversation with you. "Knew it!" She yelled, rather loudly. You cringed, and she noticed, looking apologetic. That quickly wiped off her face.

"So, what'd you come to Mt Ebbott looking for?" She asked, making herself comfortable, propping her head up with an arm she put on the table. You looked away, thinking of a good excuse. Yeah, go and tell her you're a complete freak of nature, that you're technically on the run from some people who want to take you to some lab and run experiments on you and mess with your genes for 'science'. Something told you, that wasnt a good excuse. She looks in your eyes, and slight understanding dawns on her face.

"You don't have to tell me! Dont worry about it!" She sounded slightly less confident, and you looked back at her. "You gonna be round here for a long time? I might be being nosy here, but you're the first person we've had round here in a while!" She resumed her cheery tone of voice, and you took a sip of coffee, calculating what to say. Might as well talk to her, what harm could she do?

No, thinking like that is gonna get you killed. You can't trust anyone, not when your on the run from a dangerous organisation that want to experiment on you for life.

"...I'll be around for a while. I have nowhere to be, to be honest." You shrug it off, staring off into the distance. She seems like a nice person, and you know of the distrust between monsters and humans, so its unlikely that she's going to hurt you after all. 'Safer than sorry' though. Always safer than sorry. She nodded in understanding as she looked at you, and you looked to her for a couple of explanations about the place.

For now, you decide you should trust this person.

"Is everyone around here a monster?" You ask, and then feel like cursing to yourself seconds later. That may have been a tad insensitive, but if it were, Undyne didn't notice it, or care for that matter. "Yeah yeah!" She answered enthusiastically. "Most of the place is monsters, actually. We got some deals going on with the government over here, so any humans that come through here and own a house have to sign a load of treaties. It's too much work for 'em, so they just don't. Better for us though, those twigs don't deserve it here!" She laughs heartedly, and bellows loudly.

"Sounds...interesting." You reply, and she keeps going. "But hey, the couple we do got round here are pretty cool! Frisks gotta be the bestest of 'em all though. You know who frisk is right?" She asks, and you think for a moment. Frisk, they were the kid responsible for freeing all the monsters from the underground, if memory serves you correctly. And they were small too, about the same age you were when you got your cat ears. So 10/11 ish. "Frisk is responsible for all the monsters leaving the underground right?" You asked her, fairly confident, just asking for re-assurance sake. It's confirmed when she nods proudly and bashes her hand on the table a couple of times.

"Hell yeah that our kid Frisk! Oh man! They're the best you know?!" She's way too enthusiastic for a normal person. Mind, she isn't a 'person', she's a monster. Maybe this is normal for them, they've been underground for ages after all. And by ages, you do mean literal ages, so much so that monsters became myth and the debate of where monsters came from at all is still being discussed; as the monsters keep saying its something about magic, which in any textbook I've ever read in school, or out of school, said is very simply impossible humans. Although witchery was a big thing that would've contributed to this, though they got burnt at the stake, or drown.

On the other hand, they say monsters were humans that got trapped underground, and slowly mutated and adapted over ages to become the monsters they were now, to be able to survive underground. It was all pretty fascinating stuff, to be honest. Though you yourself couldn't decide what side to be on in the argument, and simply replied with 'don't know, don't care' whenever the question should come up.

"Anyways, anyways! If your planning on sticking around here your probably gonna need a place - for that you need to speak to Toriel! She's Frisks' mom!" She explained, and I just nodded, rather blankly. She eyed me up and down slightly. "Hey, you said you didn't wanna tell me, but if your here cause you don't have any choice, I could hook you up with a couple of things."

No. You don't need her pity. Where'd this come from? You could survive by yourself. "No, thanks. I'll be alright." She tilted her head to the side slightly.

"Really? Cause from what I can read off you just stepped off a bus and have no idea where you are, what to do, or how to survive here." You looked at her, she's a pretty good judge of character. To an extent, you knew how to survive, your instincts could easily do that for you. You've managed to survive without help for large portion of help, you'd be fine. Besides, if you got to close to this monster, this Undyne, they could hurt you, quite easily. What would they do? What would they do if they found out that you weren't even human? That I was on the surface, inhumane, while they were trapped underground for ages? Would they become angry? What'd happen?

You hear the door swing open, with a bell sound.

"Oh hey guys! Over here!" You hear Undyne call others over.

Oh no.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I went over this with a spellcheck and everything but I bet there's something I missed, but thank you for the comments and helpful suggestions!


	3. Undyne and the air monster.

You look to the door as it opens, and watch as 4 figures shuffle through. You observe them, and their facial expressions as they look at Undyne, and then toward you. Less than moments later, here you are, sat, coffee in hand, with 4 monsters all before you. "We got a new human around!" Undyne cheers, looking victoriously at you, while also eyeing you as if you were prey. You inspect each monsters face. There's a tall, goat lady, smiling fondly at Undyne as she cheers, a motherly kind of smile. She wears a majestic purple dress with a large symbol on it, one you recognise as the Delta rune. Next to her, a small child, with a striped t-shirt. They had yellowy skin, and you can immediately tell that they're this Frisk that was on the news so much!

Looking to the other side of Undyne, you see a small reptilian creature, entirely yellow, with glasses and a large labcoat on. She is, in short, quite the cutie. She looks flustered slightly, and nervously plays with her hands, glancing at Undyne with a loving gaze every now and then. You smile as you realise why she's so nervous, she liked Undyne! Turning your attention away from them, you focus on the final 2 monsters. Both skeletons, one very tall, and another rather short. The tall one is enthusiastically nodding at Undyne as she pulls and tugs at your arm repeatedly, rambling on about humans and etc etc. He has a nice looking orange hoodie on, reading 'cool dude' on the first. It feels as if it should be a small child's hoodie, but its very nice all the less.

And the final monster. Wearing a blue hoodie, and what you think are black shorts, but you cant tell over the table. He's....asleep? In his hand, he has a ketchup bottle, and his face is down on the table. He looks like he's sleeping.

-Twitch- 

You quickly pull your hat back in place as your hat moves slightly. Nobody notices, but you swear as you tear your eyes away from the small skeleton there is a slight, barely noticeable flash of blue. Undyne notices you looking at him, and everyone else, and then pauses mid-sentence. "SO YE- Oh, shoulda introduced you first right?" She grins, closing her eye, and you nod. She points at each one enthusiastically. "Toriel, Frisks' mum!" She takes the goats hand and shakes it enthusiastically. Caringly, Toriel takes Undyne's and peels it away from Toriels' grasp. She nods at you, courteously. `The child, Frisk, mimics her, and also bows, knocking their head on the table. 

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT, HUMAN?!" You slightly wince, as the tall skeletons, equally tall, voice rings out. Your pretty sure your hearing just got radically decreased. Frisk nods, and pats his arm reassuringly. The tall skeleton turned to you. "I'M PAPYRUS! AND THAT, LAZY BONES" He pauses, and casts a slightly worried glance at the smaller skeleton - "IS MY OLDER BROTHER, SANS!" He exclaims proudly, grabbing Sans' shoulder and shaking him wildly. He doesn't wake up from his slumber though. 

"And this" Undyne hugs the reptilian creature, who gushes wildly. "Is my wife, Alphys!" She plants a kiss on her forehead, and laughs when she begins to blush. 

"I-it's ni-ice to m-meet you..." Alphys stutters, and I plaster the smile on my face again, the polite one, turning to her.

"Nice to meet you too, Alphys. I'm...." You hesitate for a moment. Should you risk telling them your name? Why the hell not, it's unlikely you'll be able to hold out long, thinking about it. "_______" you say finally, and Undyne looks impressed.

"SUCH A HUMAN NAME!" She yells, laughing. You nod slightly, and finish off your remaining coffee. You've already paid the bill, you could leave now if you wanted to. But something is telling you to stay for just a bit longer. You decide not to, and slowly grab your bag. Slinging it over your shoulder you stand up. "Where you going, ______?" Undyne asks, and you just shrug, feeling your claws digging into your backpacks shoulder strap. You hadn't bit your nails at all, and now they were too long. Almost painfully long, or sharp at least. You could claw someone's eye out.

"I- I have to go. I'll see you later, okay?" You wave them bye, the smile fading as you stepped out the door. Sighing, you looked up at the sky. Great, already a bunch of the inhabitance knew who you were, lovely. That could make surviving a bit difficult. You walked past the window, and noticed the small skeleton has awoken. As you turned away, you could swear that you felt a lingering gaze on your back, following you, all the way until you ducked into an alleyway, and began biting at your nails. 

 

\--------

The sun was setting, exhausted, you sat on the roof of a seemingly desolate building; maybe you could stay here tonight. Nothing much had happened after the event at the cafe, you scoured the entire town but couldn't find a hint of anything suspicious, or out of the norm; bar a couple of lingering monsters. Their population was much lower than the humans, but a majority of the monsters had been all cramped together, so they must like the freedom. 'Freedom.' Something you always thought you had, but never really did. You quickly peered around, with nobody in sight, and took your black cap off. Your cat ears sprung up, and you rubbed them as a small headache creeped up from nowhere. Having to hide them all day, and keep them low hurt a lot after a while, but you couldn't really just take off your hat. As far as anyone should know, any monster should know too; your a normal human being, with a few...social irregularities. That was all. 

Just then, you heard a metal door swing open from beneath you, and figured it was a door in the building.Loud, if you could hear it through the roof of a room. You thought the building was empty.... Quickly putting your cap back on, you winced at the slight pressure on your ears once more, before ducking behind a large structure on the roof. Seconds later, the door to the roof swings open, and you feel your blood go warm, the rush of anticipation creeping through your veins, ready to unleash at any moment you may need to escape. You felt your vision become sharper, your eyes adjust more, and your teeth suddenly be spikier than before. You licked your lips, as you could hear the pitter-patter of footsteps behind you. You crept around slightly, and saw...the small skeleton. 

Suddenly, a loud ringing tone came from his pocket, and you quickly whipped around the corner as to make sure he couldn't see you. Seconds later, you heard his voice speak up. "Sans speaking. Yeah, the drug should be affective." Drug? You felt your ears perk up, as you were eager to learn more. "I'll have to weaken it, it'll be lethal. Yeah I know, school kids and stuff. Give 'em a lollipop after, they won't know better." Lethal? You realise this is the first time hearing him speak, his voice is cold, with no joking undertone or happiness behind the words; the complete opposite to that Undyne you met this morning. Unless she was tricking you. And now she knows your name, great.

"Next month? Yeah, I can do. Okay, see ya." You hear him say goodbye to whoever's on the phone, and then a sigh. "Fucking human government...so difficult." You hear him grumble, which resonates a fear within you. Were your judgements right? Whatever, you couldn't let him find you, or know you'd been listening in on him. Why was he talking to the government? The same government....that wants to test drugs on you, and make you into a lab rat. Okay, yeah, definitely not now. Whatever the fuck he was doing, you do not want to be involved. Maybe they were all tricking you, maybe they found some way to track you, found out where you were going and made a deal with these monsters to trap you. Oh shit. 

Panic flooded through your veins now, along with adrenaline and a ton of other things. It's completely absurd, but so was all of this existence of yours. It makes sense, you know that, but at the same time; what monsters would willingly work with humans anyway? Sans didn't sound too happy about it though. You stop, and freeze as you feel something in the air behind the structure your standing behind. Then the shuffling of feet, to your right. Without thinking, you run to the left, silently and swiftly, and jump off the roof. 

It's a very, very long way down. 

Luckily, you land on your feet, and you quickly duck into an alley, and press yourself up against a wall. You peer upwards, and you see Sans, looking over an iron railing confused, with one eye completely black, and another blazing blue. He shrugs, and then his eyes both fade and dim to a white, his pupils re-adjusting as he turns to walk back inside. You wait until the door closes behind him, and then you breathe out a sigh of relief. Okay, so he didn't see you. Nice. 

What was that all about? You remember to make a mental note about it, being careful not to forget. Does everyone else you were with this morning work with the government too? Well. if they do, I guess that's just great for you - right? You roll your eyes, as you feel the cold breeze threaten to tug your hat off your head. Nope, not until your somewhere safe. Talking of somewhere safe...where would that be? You've been looking around all day...but you never really spotted anywhere that you could stay for the night. 

A hand on your shoulder makes you jump and you try to jump away, but its firm and you feel your knees buckle beneath you and threaten to abandon you for the floor. "Where you been all day?" You hear a seemingly familiar voice. You spin around, so fast you could get whiplash, and look who it is.

"Undyne. Hi." You say, as she releases your shoulder, hollering with laughter at the fact you jumped. You feel your ears flop in annoyance as you glared at her, she continued to laugh for what seems to be minutes before finally stopping. "You don't have a place to stay, right?" She assumes, and you think about what you just witnessed. Where did she come from anyway? Batting away her question, you decide to pose your own. "Where did you come from, Undyne?" You ask, your voice light, but still carrying a serious tone. You felt your vision become slightly sharper as you looked at her, and you could feel the sharpness of your nails as she looked at you.

"Oh, I was helping out Sans. Science stuff, I don't know. All I know is he's such a twig he can't carry a couple boxes!" She laughs, and flexes her arms. "BUT LOOK AT ME! This is nothing that a strong fish woman like myself couldn't handle!" She pipes down, and you see her face go slightly pink. "That and Alphys said if I helped I got to watch anime with her later...BUT I AM STRONG!" She raises her fists as if to punch the air happily and wildly, and you step back to make sure that you don't get hit by the on slaughter of punches seemingly directed at an enemy made from air. 

After a while, she seems to think she's beating the wild air monster, she triumphantly stands proud, as if she had just defeated a mighty foe, before giving you a toothy grin. "I was practising that for when I got Frisk, but that like, didn't happen, so - VICTORY! Anyways!" She quickly regains her composure. "Lemme help you out!" She offers you a hand, and I just stare at her like she's insane for some time.

"C'mooonnnn!" She moans at you, as if expecting you to do something. I contemplate my options, she could take you anywhere. 

You decide, fuck it, trust her. You have nothing to lose. You take her hand in your own, and in a flash, she's pulling you along the streets.


	4. Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up and things happen!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI, I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING THIS! But seriously, I need to update this more. Sorry if you've been waiting ^-^''''' Ive got a two week holiday now though, so for these two weeks expect a couple more updates.

And yet, you knew your brain was right. Somewhere along when Undyne was pulling you, you seemed to black out, and now you were cold, and wet. And tired. But yet, you couldn't shake the feeling of not being alone. It felts if there were someone watching you in the shadows, evaluating. Watching. You sat up slowly, and looked around, sleepily. You were laid on concrete, and the only light that you could use was coming through a small vent in the wall. 

-twitch, twitch-

You were thankful your cap had managed to stay on, somehow. You recall that your hat has some kind of supernatural ability to stay on your head when it shouldn't. Like, when hanging upside down, or running. Or jumping down off high ledges... So, where are you? A prison, quite frankly. You lay your hands on the floor, taking in everything. It was very dark, but you can easily make out a bed that seems to be literally hanging off the wall with chains, and some stairs. Your vision is mostly green, but splodges of grey blare through. Being able to see in the dark was definitely a good thing, otherwise you might've been panicking. Well, panicking more than you were now. 

You let them get you. You decided 'fuck it' and look where it gets you. Nowhere, apart from a personal hell in a place you haven't even gotten familiar with yet, locked up by monsters for humans. Is this the way that monsters are able to live with humans? They make deals to catch abominations like yourself? Well, that doesn't seem too far off the mark. Every man for themselves, right? They'd been en-captured for years and years, and you've had all this freedom. You figure, that maybe this is their revenge of some sort. Thinking, you find it surprising that they harboured so much love in their hearts to not murder as many humans as they could; although apparently there were children killed in their attempts to escape. Maybe they gained civility back, or maybe...this was where they left humans to die and then they devoured their remains later on. Thinking about it, Undyne had unnaturally sharp teeth. Mind, she seemed to be mostly fish. 

Suddenly, from the top of the stairs there were hushed whispers. You remember when you first woke just less than a moment ago, you had yawned. Its not often you yawn, as you seem to make some weird...strangled cat noise. You feel your hairs stand on end, your ears perking up, as you listened intently. "Was that a cat? There's a cat down there?" One, seemingly unfamiliar voice whispered. "Oh no, if that get aided her 'escape' then wouldn't that be...cat-astrophic?" 

"BROTHER! WE HAVE BEEN SENT ON A VERY IMPORTANT MISSION TO BRING THE CAPTURED HUMAN TO UNDYNE! MUST YOU INSIST ON MAKING PUNS NOW?" A very, very loud voice boomed. Its then you noticed part of the wall shaking. That, must be the door. Right at the top of the staircase. There is snickering, as the conversation continues. "Paw-lease, Papyrus." A joking tone, yet there was a hint of something underlying. Brother....Papyrus... Was that what Sans usually sounded like? You think back to the rooftop, he sounded so different then. So much more...cold. Dead. Evil. But now, he sounded like a complete prankster, a kidder, someone who could never sound the same as that person on the roof. What else were you wrong about? Maybe this place was made out of candy and you could eat your way out? Bringing your knees close to your chest, you sit in silence for a few moments, thinking about what they said. They could come through any second, but for now, you just wanted to process their words. Papyrus, used the words 'captured human'. So, you've most definitely been caught. But human? You smile dimly to yourself. You were most certainly not human. 

\- Twitch -

Your ears twitch some more, just to remind you of that fact. That no matter how hard you tried, they are placed atop your head, and they are indeed, inhumane. Like your existence, almost. In fact, exactly. Sometimes, you thought you didn't deserve them, they let you have so many things. Like, being able to listen in on people, to know if anything important was happening, so you could secure yourself. You didn't really care about anyone else, especially not in that orphanage. Hand in hand, what a cheesy name. You chuckle bitterly at that too, and then let your head slump forward into your knees. Closing your eyes, you heard what you presumed to be the door swing open. Hissing almost silently, you could feel the warmth of the light fall onto you. Slowly, you opened your eyes, and looked up. Papyrus was the one at the door, and Sans was lingering behind. A creepy, goofy grin still on his face. The second he looked at you, his pupils disappeared, and he kept smiling. Hollow, broken and cold. Something within you resonates as you look at him. What was this feeling? Hatred? Jealousy? 

Nope. It was fear.

Your eyes flick to Papyrus, who seems to be beaming at you, regardless of the fact that he's leading you to a life of being a lab rat. You sigh, and he grabs your arms, picking you up. "AHH!" You instinctively scream, and without thinking, you grab his arm, claws digging in, and you twist it. A horrible CRACK! erupts through the air, as you fight your way out of his grip. You feel everything turn sleeker, more defined, and inhale sharply as you land on the floor and feel how painful it was to be this focused. Your eyes open wide as you realised what you'd done, and now, you were kinda in a corner. Looking at Sans, you freeze. His smile faltered, and you felt something cracking in the air. Then, his smile returned, but his pupils were still gone.

"HAHAHA! YOU REALLY TICKLED MY FUNNY BONE, HUMAN!" Papyrus rolls on the floor, and you instantly get distracted. Your rationality kicks back in. He seems fine, so....you wont get murdered today. You could always run away from them...you are - seemingly - much faster than them. Not Undyne though, according to yesterday. You watch the big hunk of a skeleton get up, and he puts his arms on his hips. "I GUESS, I SHALL JUST HAVE TO TRUST YOU HUMAN! LET US VENTURE FORWARD, TO THE BOUNTIFUL BREAKFAST CREATED BY THE GREAT UNDYNE!" He flashes a bright smile at you, and you sigh. Standing up slowly, you don't say anything, averting your eyes to the ground. You follow his footsteps, and feel Sans' presence lurking behind you. 

\-------------------

It seems your over-active imagination caught you again. Turns out that that was the only room Undyne and Alpyhs could spare, which was the store room under the cafe. Now here you are, eating a bacon sandwich and having a drink of tea while monsters chat idly around you. You sit there awkwardly, staring down at your drink. 

Your thoughts begin to drift back to Sans, and you momentarily glance at him as you try to decipher what he is. Nothing seems to add up. Usually, he looks like a pretty lazy, funny guy, but he seemed entirely different to you. Cold hearted, and...well, your pretty sure that he wants to murder you. You silently thank Undyne and the rest of the monsters for not leaving you alone with him, you might have become human paste. He's obviously dangerous, you think, with all the mystery behind him. But, you feel like if your going to be stuck with these guys, which you presume your going to be for the foreseeable future, since for now they seemed harmless - all but the skeleton of course - you should want to get to know him better. Or at least, make that air of mistrust between the two of you dissipate. 

-Twitch- 

You eat slower than yesterday, and you can feel your eyes twitch slightly in delight as you take another bite into your sandwich. Undyne looks at you smiling as you eat, and grins. "Its pretty good stuff, huh?" She asks, and you just nod. She seems to take that as a good sign, and boasts about how good her food is to the rest of the table. They give her compliments, and after a few minutes, she simmers down. You notice even Sans chips in, and you look at him for more than a couple seconds for once. He's smiling, and you feel a shiver run down your back momentarily as you remember his stare this morning. He says something witty, to which Papyrus groans, but you aren't listening. You find yourself lost in his eyes. Its only now you notice how intriguing they are. They catch yours. 

-Twitch-

You blink, a twitching in your eyes making you shake your head slightly. Its creepy to stare. Creepier to stare and think about how intriguing their eyes are. You drink tea, to try to drown out your thoughts. Your eyes flicker back to Sans. Did he notice you for long? Probably not. 

-Twitch-

You realise how long its been since you've properly had your hat off. Quite a few days, thinking about it. You didn't get much time with them off before you had to put them back on when exploring, and before that you'd been in the orphanage. After that, you'd been knocked out. They were beginning to HURT, actually. 

"Uh, hey _____ are you okay?" Undyne looked at you, and you looked at her curiously. You set down the mug. "Uh, yeah why?" She looked above your head, and everyone at the table stopped talking. Panic starts setting in, your cap hadn't let one of your ears slip out, right?

"Your bleeding." Sans points out, looking shocked. Hey, he actually talked to y- wait...your bleeding. You reach a hand up, and you feel something sticky. Lowering your hand. Blood red. Jumping up, you almost knock the table over. 

"Hey _____ are you sure your okay? Alphys can take a look at it! Or Toriel!" Undyne said, and you looked for an exit. Shit. Uh. 

"I...." You take a breath, and you feel your vision sharpen, and then blur. "I need to go." You turn abruptly, and run out of the door. You hear footsteps behind you, and as you run down the street, your vision slowly becomes a cloudy red. 

"WAIT! ______! COME BACK!" You hear Undyne wail, but you keep running. Down side streets and main streets, until your heart feels like its going to be ripped out of your chest you run, and you don't look back. "Fuck...FUCK!" You scream, screeching to a stop. You can hear your own pulsating heart as you curse, pulling off your hat. Yeap, sure enough, your ears were bleeding. 

Whenever they were too pressurised, blood wouldn't get to them right, making them twitch more as a sign that you needed to let them out. You thought that a couple more days should've been fine, but now there was blood covering you, and it didn't want to stop any time soon. You felt your ears practically scream in pain as you curled up into a ball, leaning against a dumpster. Then there was a ripping sound. A couple of footsteps. Finally, there was no more pain. Sleep. 

Sleep came easy.


	5. Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations! You aren't dead!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank-you for all the nice comments and everything guys! As well as all the kudos! I appreciate it. Again, if you have any feedback for me I'd love to hear it! Its been the first time I've started writing something serious in a while, so I'm pretty out of shape with my writing... 
> 
> ~BB

When you come to, the first thing you think of is a hospital. The smell of the air, the feeling of what was beneath you, which felt like an uncomfortable bed, seemed to instantly spell out: hospital. As you slowly opened your eyes,hissing instinctively at the bright light, it seemed as in you were in just that. But, well, a small one. 

A weird monitor was bleeping at your side, one you instantly recognised as a heart monitor, and you looked down to see a wire attached to you. You lifted your hand up to your head, and felt around. The blood was gone. 

So was your hat. 

Who put you in here? Where were you? What happened to the alleyway? When you look down, you notice your still in your clothes. You slowly peel off the wire, attached to your hand, and get out of the bed. You shut off the machine as it says your heart goes dead, and you stand up slowly. 

Your stomach feels like it'd one a back flip, and you fall backward. Your head pounds, everything was slightly fuzzy as you blink. You again sit up, this time much more pre-cautiously than before, and then look for a window. You find one, and slowly make your way over to it. Your head feels like its being drilled into slowly, but you keep persisting, until you've finally made it to the window. You grip the window for support, and look out. It takes you a moment to recognise where you are, but then you can distinguish the alleyway you jumped down to from where you stand. Indeed, you were in the building Sans had been in a day previous, where you overheard his phone call. 

Was it him who brought you here? If it was, which you were now presuming, then he knew, didn't he? He knew. Oh, he definitely knew. You were bleeding from your ears. He knows you have ears. Oh god. 

"Well, sleeping beauty finally decided to wake up." A voice arises from behind you, and you jump, turning around. At the door, which you only noticed now it was open; was a short skeleton. You instinctively reached your hands up to cover your ears. He rolled his eyes, or whatever he had in place of his eye sockets. 

"Please, I know your a freak. No need to cover 'em up." You visibly flinch at his words. 'Freak.' While knowing he was true, it didn't make it any easier to swallow that sentence. You slowly lower your hands, and look at him. "Don't tell anyone." Your voice comes off as more scared than threatening, and he laughs slightly. He walks across the room to the bed you were in moments before, and sits down. "I'll be honest with you. I don't like you - whatever the hell you are." He pauses for a moment, and then looks at you. His eyes fade away to nothing, and you take a gulp of breathe. Your eyes became sharp as you stood up sharper. You could feel your ears to perk up slightly. You could tell he took a glance at them at the way he moved his head. Now, your having what seems to be a silent stand off with him. "You creep me out." You say bluntly, and he just shrugs. 

"Not my problem, buddo." Buddo? Did he really just say buddo? Turns out that yes, yes he did. "Look. If you as so much hurt my friends..." You felt the air between you two start to crackle unnaturally, as time and space tears apart as you look at each other for what seems like an eternity, and you can feel every particle you both inhale and exhale. "You'r gonna have a bad time." A flash of blue as you saw something phase in and out of existence behind him, and you stared at them blankly. 

"Look." You turn away from him to be able to concentrate on your own movements and not the fact that the universe seems to be tearing apart right here and now. "If your worried about your friends, then I'm not gonna hurt them. But, if I don't hurt them. You dont tell anyone." This seems reasonable right? You run through things in your head. Right now, if he wanted to, he could potentially kill you. "Deal." The universe came together again, and somehow, you were back to looking at him again. His eyes lit back up, and he extended an arm out to you, grinning his usual grin. "My name is Sans. Sans the skeleton. This is my lab." You think for a moment, looking at his cold, bony hand. 

You smirk slightly, as you felt your ears twitch, probably happy at the fact they got a rest from being under their hat. You take his hand in yours, and feel how cold they are, before your heat quickly transfers to his bones. "My names' ______. Nice to meet you Sans." The world seems to be going at a normal pace, and you pull away from him. 

"So, you brought me back here?" You ask, and he nods. "And nobody else saw me." You say that as more of a statement, but again, he nods. You breathe a sigh of relief, and look out of the window. So, now your secret was out to a peculiar, small, and dangerous skeleton. But at least it wasn't the entire monster race. Or the entire world. You think how lucky you are that you aren't a lab rat right now. Or, maybe this was just the beginning of a ton of experiments. You are in a lab. 

"Here's your hat back. I'll call Undyne and tell her your okay. She wants to talk to you. See you." He walks out of the door, but not before throwing your hat at you. You hold it in your hands for a moment. He turns to you before closing the door. "Freak." The door swings shut, and you sigh. Well, this was great. A damsel in distress who got a...wacky, fucked up prince who could murder her to save her when she passes out horribly in an alley. 

You chuckle under your breath. "Alley cat..." You could make some sort of pun, but then you remember Papyrus' discomfort as Sans and his own terrible puns. Your ears prick up, and you hear footsteps from beneath you. Your vision becomes sharp. Voices. Undyne's voice, actually. Quickly, you put your hat on, and walk over to sit on the bed. As you place yourself down, the door almost flies off its hinges. "_________!!" She yells, jumping at you, and squashing you in a hug. You flail, and grab your hat as you fall onto the bed. 

Toriel walks into the room shortly after, holding a basket in one hand, and Frisks' hand in another. "What happened to your head?! WHY WERE YOU RUNNING AWAY?!AREYOUOKAYSANSSAIDYOUWEREFINEANDTHATHEFOUNDYOUBUTIWASSOWORRIEDIFWEACCIDENTALLYHURTYOUORIFYOFELLONSOMETHINGINTHENIGHTANDDIDNTNOTICEAND OH MY GOSH!!" She wails, gripping you tight. Discomforted, you wait for her to slow down, and then slowly pull away from her. 

"Undyne." You look at her seriously, and she stares back. "I'm fine. It was a head injury, and I freaked out. Blood and all. Im fine." She gives you another bear hug, and you see Toriel glancing at you apologetically. You smile at her, and Undyne pulls away from you. "Humans are so worrying!" She sighs, and grins at you. "From now on, whenever you get an injury we're gonna fix it okay?" You sigh, and she seems to take that as a yes. You'll have to find a way out of that, you can't let her know you have cat ears. Na-da. She'd turn you into the police, or yell at you, or disown you or something. Not that disowning you would be a bad thing, in fact it would let you be able to keep low. Being one of the only humans surrounded by monsters didn't really mean keeping a low profile, if anything it'd get you more publicity than before. Not everyone took so well to having monsters on the surface after all. You'd been on the forums and that, you'd seen the horrible things people could say about them. To be affiliated with them was a bad omen, but you figured there was no way to get out of it now, so you might as well begin to accept the fact that you were now a part of their friends group. Besides, it would be beneficial to stay with people who knew this area after all. Well - not people, monsters; but same principle. 

"My child and I baked you some cinnamon butterscotch pie as a get better gift." Toriel chirps, setting her basket aside. Frisk signs something to her, and you notice that she never speaks. They're probably mute, now that you put thought into it. More footsteps come from the hallway, and Papyrus, carrying both Sans and Alphys on his shoulders - which moderately impressed you - comes into the room, beaming. "HUMAN! YOU ARE OKAY! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO GO ON HOLIDAY AND NOT COME BACK! YOU WORRIED ME." You could feel a hint of worry in his voice, but his voice makes your headache re-surface. You press your hand to your head, and thank him as he sets down a flustered Alphys and Sans. Sans looks moderately displeased as he looks at you. You shoot him the face back, and then look away. Toriel has cut everyone a slice of pie, and placed them on delicate, worn plates with ornate forks to eat the slices with. Did she keep all of these plates and knives in the basket? It looked like she could only fit the pie at most in there.

You dig in, and its delicious. So delicious, that you eat it in 10 seconds flat. Undyne stares at your empty plate, and quickly finishes her own. "I'm impressed!" She yells, and you smile slightly. "You eat even faster than ME!" She booms, and you look down. "I EAT QUICK TOO!" Papyrus yells, showing off his now empty plate. Then, Frisk flails, as they hold up their plate. "You think you can all beat me huh?!" Undyne asks, to which Papyrus and Frisk furiously agree. "ITS ON!" She yells, demanding Toriel give us all another slice. She happily complies, and you wolf down yours in a matter of seconds. As you finish, you look around, and then Undyne yells, scooping the last of it in her mouth. "I WIN!" She says, and then looks to you. 

"Actually, I win." You smirk, and she glares at you, a rivalry sparking in her eyes, setting something alight within her. The fire of competition burning bright. "ONE MORE TIME! TORIEL!" Undyne holds her plate up, and Toriel throws it on her plate, landing it perfectly. You hold yours up the same, and she throws a piece onto yours too. 

\-----

4 slices later, and your tired out. Undyne has given up, and declared you the pie eating champion. With a heavy heart, she dramatically give up her invisible crown and placed it upon your head, before falling down and dramatically fake-dying. Alphys said only a princesses kiss could wake her, and you watch as she tentatively walked over and kissed her on the cheek. Frisk made a face of disgust, and you followed her lead, and then grinned at each other. 

It occurs to you that you've settled into this life awfully fast, as you look out of the window. These people are so nice, that you could hardly imagine them seeking to do any harm against you. So why were people so afraid of monsters anyway? Your thoughts flickered Sans. Yeah, he was scary. And, as you now look at him momentarily, you noticed how distant he was. he didn't join in on the antics, but rather watched from afar, smiling as he watched his friends interact with one another. He looked at you curiously, and you looked away. Crap, you really needed to stop staring at him so often. 

But Sans could most definitely be the enough to scare some people away from monsters. You feel like he doesn't do it because he doesn't like humans though, but rather he didn't want harm to come to his friends. Which was understandable, but it did feel almost obsessive. You can't blame him. After you and your friends have been locked underground for years upon years to be freed and let out to a world that shut you away and most likely hate you is probably going to be a struggle to come to terms with. And having your friends and family shunned and possibly sent back to where they had spent so long escaping from was something you would probably vehemently fight against. No, definitely. At least, you know you would.


	6. The World Is A Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And this is where I say there is blood and gore, not much, but some, in this chapter. As well as yelling, and crying. Have fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man was this a fun chapter to write. Also, I was planning on maybe drawing some stuff for this on my tumblr, called yesitsbb - you can msg me on there if you want or whatever, I dont expect you to -, however I suck at drawing so don't expect it to be that good. I don't have ANY idea of what the reader looks like. Also, have fun with this chapter - there is slight blood and gore near the end, not much and not in much detail, but there is some so if you don't like that maybe skip that bit. Thanks for reading everyone! If you've read this far here, have a cookie. *Passes cookie to reader*/

"My child." Toriel nudged your shoulder slightly, as you blinked. You turned to her slowly, and peered at her curiously. "It has come to my attention that you do not have a home currently, correct?" Did you ever even mention that to anyone? No, you didn't. However, considering the fact that you'd never actually been here, and the fact that everyone knew you weren't from around here, they would probably take it as common knowledge amongst them. 

"I don't." You say, short, and simple, careless. It's not as if it mattered really, you could get by without a roof over your head. Cats were used to sleeping outside, and you were half cat after all. You look down at your hands, and your nails need cutting again. You sigh and look back to Toriel. "Well, me and Frisk have a spare bedroom in our apartment currently. It's being used as storage space, but we'd happily accommodate you." She smiles as sincere as can be. However, you think about this for a minute. You've already invaded their lives, and they haven't given you into the police or anything, so you presume you can trust them; but to just go and live with them was kinda not the best thing for you to do. Presumably now, you can trust these people; but doubt still clouds your mind and you unsure as to whether or not this is a good idea. You think for a moment, and are about to speak when Sans interrupts. 

"Don't worry about it Tori, me and Papyrus were gonna look after her already. We talked about it when she woke up before I called you all, actually." He says, and alarms go off in your head instantly. He looks at Toriel, who seems to be pleased with this, and then gives a short glance at you that seems to say 'don't ask questions, you wont get hurt.' You decide rather than questioning Sans and confusing everyone, you'd rather just deal with it. If push comes to shove you could just walk out of there and go some place else. Okay, maybe it wouldn't be that simple, considering Sans could seemingly rip open the universe and split it in two, but... well, as long as Papyrus was there, maybe you'd be okay. Unless his happy façade was a complete rouse, and they were luring you to their house to kill you, chop you up and hide your body in the basement. You shudder slightly, and look to Papyrus, who looks completely elated. Nah, he couldn't be some horrible guy, he's so...cheerful. Almost sickeningly so. 

"THE HUMAN IS STAYING WITH US?! WONDERFUL! I WILL MAKE YOU LOTS OF PASTA, AND YOU CAN READ BEDTIME STORIES WITH ME!! OH FUN! THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!" He dances around the room like an excited 5 year old promised to go to Disney land. Watching him makes you laugh slightly, and smile at the site. Everyone spends another half an hour joking around, and eating more things that Toriel has somehow conjured up from nowhere, before deciding it was getting late. They said their farewells, and Toriel had offered to walk Papyrus home, as Frisk had wanted a ride on their tall friend. So, now, it was just you and Sans. 

He looks at you expectantly, leaning on the door frame. "You coming or what?" He smiles at you creepily again, and you glare him, standing up. Why the hell was this happening? Why didn't you say anything? Stupid, stupid stupid. "Why the hell do I have to come home with you anyway?!" You yell, feeling your ears twitch in annoyance. You walk down the flight of stairs situated down the corridor from the room you were in, as Sans replies. 

"You think I want someone like you around my friends house? Out of sight? No way." Someone like you. What the hell does that mean? You glare at him, and walk out the door. "What the hell is your problem? What would I even do to them? Why would I want to do anything to them?" You start, and he just looks at you. You keep walking, and he stops. You turn around to face him.

"Like you don't know what my problem is. Everyday humans, people like you, terrorise monsters. Terrorise their own species too if they feel like it. Every single one of you are bad - infact, every single one of THEM are bad, as well as you. Your a freak who shouldn't have been born, you should have died, cause all that your ever gonna be able to do is hurt my friends. All you or any of your pathetic race, are only gonna bring harm to people I care about. I've seen it!" Rage seems to rip you apart inside out, and you feel like your going to explode. Adrenaline rushes through your veins as you scream back.

"I'M NOT THE ONLY FREAK!" You lash out at him. "I KNOW I SHOULDN'T EXIST! I KNOW, OKAY?! BUT AT LEAST I DON'T CALL OTHERS OUT ON IT! AT LEAST I DON'T MAKE PEOPLE FEEL LIKE SHIT FOR THEIR EXISTENCE EVEN MORE SO THAN THEY DO ALREADY! AT LEAST, I DON'T CRIMINALISE SOMEONE FOR WANTING TO EXIST!" You take a deep breathe, and your vision becomes blurry. "At least I fucking try, okay?! What more do you want from me?!" You yell, tiredness seeping into your voice. The blood loss has made you still rather woozy, and as you look at Sans you can feel something wet rolling down your cheeks. 

He looks helpless and lost for words as you stand there in silence, and for the first time, you think he isn't looking at you with disgust. What he is though might be worse. It's pity, guilt, sadness and a plethora of things you can't detect. Unable to stand it anymore, you wipe away the tears that fall from your face, and turn away from him. "Just take me home." You say gravely, and slowly, hesitantly you hear him move, and he walks past, and soon enough you follow his footsteps. 

\-------

Sans swings the door open, and you take in the scent of burnt pasta and cinnamon, a weird smell indeed. You look around as you take a step inside, and take off your shoes. By now your tears have all dried up, and your cheeks are only slightly red. Papyrus comes to greet you, and you say a small hello to him. He shows you to where your room is, and you thank him, before walking in. There's a lock on the door. You decide to leave it unlocked for now, and look around. Everything about the room is bland. You didn't really take time to look around the rest of the house, but everything here is very bland. The wallpaper is white with black flowers curling up it, and the bed has sterile white bedsheets with no overlays. The bed itself is just a metal frame, and there's a small window beside it. Under that window there's a white dresser, which is empty. Apart from that, the wooden floor is bare and there's no other decorations about, unless you count the light switch next to the door as decoration, which you don't. 

It's now dark outside, and your head hurts. Your eyes ache from the tears, but you don't want to bother going outside of your room to get a drink. You peel off your jacket, which is stained in your blood from earlier that day - you didn't notice due to the fact that its a dark black, and generally blends in with the fabric - and lay on top of the bed. You don't bother tucking yourself in for a while, as its rather warm. You stare at the ceiling, and think of everything you said. What Sans looked like when you lashed out at him. 

You'd had enough. But that doesn't stop the waves of guilt that come crashing over you like a bulldozer ripping a building apart. You roll onto your side. He looked hurt. Vulnerable. In that moment, you had upset him. You shouldn't care, but there's something about that sad gaze, that gaze filled with pity, that haunted you. It wasn't the same as all the kids at school - or the gaze of your 'brother' before you were taken away back to the horrible place you didn't know existed until you found your bags. Until you found the letter. It wasn't the stare of the care workers, the onlookers or the passer-bys. This was completely new. It was like...a reflection. If you met yourself - is that what you would look like? Destroyed, scared, horrified and guilty. Guilty. Was he guilty? Another terrible wave of your own guilt flooded you. You never wanted for things to be this way. You never wanted anything to turn out this way. You just wanted to be alone. You just wanted to live. 

You could've dealt without friends. You could deal with the guilt of your own existence, being by yourself. But the moment anyone else got involved you tore them apart. Tore them down. Again and again, whenever anyone got close you'd mess up, hurt them. It was always your fault. 

Your fault.

"Human?" A soft tap at the door woke you from your thoughts. You almost didn't recognise the voice, it was so soft and small. But you did. It was Papyrus'. You slowly got up, and opened the door, rubbing your eyes tiredly. "Sorry to wake you up, its just..." He sighed, and looked away. You did this. You made him upset, just like his brother. Just like everyone else. You were a disappointment. He looked at you, and something registered in his eyes. "Good night human. The tissues are in the bathroom if you need them. For your eyes. I know humans can get emotional sometimes." 

There was a small silence. "Goodnight Papyrus." You gave him a hug, well, as much of a hug as you could give him with his tall stature, and he returned the gesture. He walked off, and you realised that you were underneath the landing. The landing was actually a platform above a section of the house, and the stairs were to your right. He walked up them slowly, and you could hear Sans' voice. "You ready for your bedtime story bro?" He asked. There was something in his voice. You caused that too. 

You didn't hear Papyrus' reply, but by now you already knew you screwed up again. All because you got mad at someone for being rightfully afraid that you'd mess things up. And look what happened, exactly what they said would. You looked around for the bathroom, and eventually made your way to it. You looked in the mirror, and realised what Papyrus had meant. Your hat was still on, and your hair wasn't so messy, but your eyes were red and there were still tear stains from where you had been crying. Again. "God why does this keep happening..." You wipe away the tears with a tissue, and splash water on your face. You wipe away the water with a spare towel from off the radiator, and plonk the towel back on there. Hopefully, the skeleton brothers didn't mind. You decided to take the tissues back to your room, but then felt a headache coming on. "Give me a break..." Your grumble, placing down the tissues. You walk back out of your room, and look for the kitchen. It's down the hall to your left, and you look around for a glass. You eventually find one, next to a weirdly large amount of ketchup packets. 

Then, you have to try to find the sink. Eventually, you do find it, but there is simply no way of you managing to get a drink. It's on top of the cupboard. Great. Because your definitely going to be able to reach up that high. Yeap. Well, you guess Papyrus could; but what about Sans. "Let me get that for ya." A bony hand reaches out and takes the the glass. You look at the skeleton, and it's Sans himself. 

His left eye glows an unnatural blue as he rises slowly. He fills up the glass with water as he levitates, and the lowers himself back down. He passes you the glass. You stare at it for a moment. "You not gonna take it?" There's a certain tenderness in his voice that wasn't there before. You keep staring for a moment, looking at his reflection in the water. He isn't grinning for once. It's...odd. You reach out and take the cup of water. You turn to walk away, but stop yourself first. Hesitantly, you speak. "Thanks...for the water." With that, you walk off, feeling his eyes slowly watching you walk down to where your room is situated. As you close your door, you decide to lock it this time. 

You lay in bed for another short while, and eventually, you hear footsteps make their way down the corridor. That'll be Sans going to bed, you think, as you sigh. You roll over onto your side, and snuggle up within all of your covers. Eventually, you fall asleep.

\-----

There is screaming. Lots of screaming. Your body is drenched in blood, like many others, and more seems to come gushing out of you with every second. Cuts make their way up your body like ladders, and your world is a distorted mess and blur of colours seemingly bursting with every breathe you take. Pain plagues your entire being, as you try to scream and move. Your struggles are fruitless, you are immobile on the floor, drowning in your own pool of blood and gore. Your screams only arise a horrifying gurgling sound from the back of your throat that seemingly rips through your concious. You struggled to stay awake, as everything seemingly faded away and came back every couple of seconds. There were lights that turned a multitude of shapes colours and sizes as you laid there, screaming for something - anything! - to stop the pain. 

You became aware of your screaming as you jolted up in bed, sweat covering your entire body as you shook tremendously in fear. Your hat was off to the side, and your ears were shot straight up as you curled up into a ball silently. You had stopped screaming now, but sobs wrecked your body as you sat curled up, alone. You didn't even notice the click of your door being unlocked and opened as you sat there. 

You sat there for a good 10 minutes before eventually your breathing slowed, and you slowly uncurled, reaching over for your drink. You took big gulps, until there was no water left. "Uh..." You heard a voice at the door. Alarmed, you looked up. For the third time today, you saw the same face. The same stare. It was Sans. "You want me to refill that for you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn't that fun huh?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don't let go." Not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is where I say there is attempted suicide in this chapter. This story is exploring some pretty dark themes, so yeah, buckle up, your in it for the long ride. 
> 
> \-----------
> 
> This chapter is huge! It took ages to write, mostly due to the fact that I had written it, and then scrapped the idea for the chapter because I didn't like it, and came up with this. Thank-you to all of you who have been writing, and commenting, I really appreciate it! Really, I'm so thankful that people actually like this. So yeah, before I start rambling, thank-you for reading my stuff, and I shall see you next chapter (?) Bye!

You stare at him for a moment, shock running through you. How long had he been there, watching you? Why did he, why did anyone, have to see you so...pathetic? "I-I can refill it myself." You say, clutching the hand with a forceful grip. Right now, you just want him to go away. But he doesn't seem to be wanting to do that. Instead, he takes a step closer. You want to hiss at him, but resist the urge to. You want him out. You don't even want to be here.

God, why were you so pathetic today?! Your a cat with razor like bad-ass reflexes why did you have to be such an emotional wreck?

"It's...really no problem. Magic n all. And...something tells me that your not - tall enough to get to the sink." He says, trying to joke around. You just sigh, and try to relax your muscles as you look at him, still holding the glass. Your cheeks are cold, and he's being nice. You just pass him the glass, and look away. "Fine." You can't bare to look at him look at you with pity. You should have just ran off when you had the chance, gotten out of here. What good can having around with monsters do anyway? 

He walks out the room, and returns moments later, leaving the glass on the dresser. He pauses, looking out the window. "Hey, look, kid..." He tries to start up conversation, but you turn away from him, and hide yourself in your white, slightly tear-stained sheets, staring at the wall. You embrace the warmth, and you can feel his lingering presence behind you. You stay still, and hope he'll go away. "Goodnight, Sans." You say, cold, and emotionless. This was unfair. He was being unfair. He was making you care. That's immensely unfair. 

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. The guys seem to like you...even though your not one of us." You can feel a slight twinge of warmth in his voice as he speaks about his friends. His friends. Not your friends - his. Your turn to face him in the bed sheets. "Can you please just go?" You ask, looking up at him. Your tired, your eyes once again hurt, and everything is just terrible today. The nightmares, the blood...it was a bad day. He sighs, and turns to walk away. "Night." He walks out the door, but stops for a moment. "_____?" He says your name, questioning. 

You don't ask him why. He closes the door, and you stare at the ceiling, thinking about today. Your just so...pathetic. No wonder you can't have friends - you suck at maintaining friendships. All of this, you suck at it. Maybe Sans was more right than you like to admit; all you can do is...hurt people. You breathe out an audible sigh, and toss and turn all night. 

The morning comes, and you feel terrible. You wipe the sleep from your eyes, and return the tissue box to the bathroom before anyone in the house seems to be awake. As you down the last of the water Sans refilled from last night however; you can easily tell one of the brothers is awake. "HUMAN!" Papyrus yelled, as clobbering could be heard from the staircase. He throws your door open, as you sit on the bed, and smile weakly at him. "Good morning Papyrus." You yawn, tiredly, and he beams at you, promising to make you a lovely breakfast. Apparently, Toriel and Frisk are coming around later today as well for dinner. 

As you set down your glass, your picked up and hauled into the living room against your will. He sits you down on the sofa, in front of their TV. It's quite comfortable, actually. Then, he walks into the kitchen, and returns with three plates of spaghetti - one precariously balanced on his head. "SAAANS!" He yells up the stairs, as he places down the plates. You can hear the clicking of a lock, and as you look up at the 2nd floor corridor, you can see Sans peering over the bannister down at Papyrus. "You made breakfast already? Sweet." Sans nonchalantly walks down the stairs, and takes a seat as far away from you as humanely possible. You eat the spaghetti in relative silence, and finish rather quickly. Your cat ears twitch, and you can hear someone near the door. Approaching on foot. 

You look at Papyrus, who has just finished eating, and you notice he hasn't really looked at you properly. Like, your face. He stands up, and walks over the door, as if some kind of weird gaurd dog. Sans stands up and passes you as you yourself stands up, to go and retrieve your coat. "Paps didn't notice because he's blind, and because he thinks looking directly at you without asking could upset you, but your missing something." He looks up at your head. You look at him confused as you hear the rapping at the door. What does he mean...? You raise your hand to your head, and realise. Shit - uh. "MY HAT!" You screech, running into your room. Quickly, you look for it. You find it under your bed, and quickly put it on. Exiting the room again, this time making sure your cat ears WEREN'T visible, you greeted Frisk and Toriel. 

Frisk seems delighted by your arrival, and signs to Toriel quickly. 

-Twitch, twitch twitch.-

That's odd, were your ears just twitching to what Frisk was signing..? "My child is happy to see you ____!" Toriel chuckles softly. Truely, you thought to yourself, she is the image of beauty and grace - isn't she? You and Toriel sit down the sofa, while Sans leaves the house without saying anything. Frisk and Papyrus use crayons to draw colourful pictures. You watch in awe; both of them are pretty good drawers actually. Frisk draws all different kinds of shells, and gives the end result - which is a page completely crammed with shells - to Toriel, who thanks the child. After a while of observing, Toriel turns to you.

"How is life over here, ____? You seem slightly tired." She smiles at you softly, and you try to force a smile back. Of course it's fake, your too tired to attempt to muster up a real one. "It's alright. Long night though, not much sleep." You say, and she offers you a drink. It turns out that she has a bag with her stocked with goodies for the day. Did she do that last time, or do monsters have some kind of magical ability to summon food out of nowhere now? You decide, maybe its for the best if you don't think about it. Because, to be honest, you were believing anything was possible from now on, so why can't summoning food from the void be possible too? 

"Maybe you should try some monster food sometime. It's good for the soul." She pats your hand, and you take a drink of whatever she gave you. It tastes mostly like tea, but it's much sweeter, but not like sugar or honey sweet. It's an oddly soothing taste, and you like it. You think about her choice of words. Good for the soul? As in, it tastes good so it makes you feel better or what? Toriel looks at the clock on the wall next to the TV, and seems alarmed. "Oh dear. I have a meeting! _____, I hate to ask this of you but would you look after Frisk for a while? With Papyrus of course." 

"Oh, uh, sure. How long are you going to be gone?" You ask, and she sighs, standing up. She puts her coat on, and packs away everything into a bag she has with her. "A long while, I'm afraid. The reason we came round was to ask Sans if he could look after Frisk for a while, but he isn't here. As long as you make sure they don't get into too much trouble he should be alright. This is a usual thing for us." You nod in understanding, as she walks up to Frisk. They say their goodbyes, and Toriel exits the house. You turn to Papyrus and Frisk, who have gone back to being sprawled out on the floor, drawing. You watch for a good 10 minutes, before Frisk runs up to you. They make some signs with your hands, but you can barely make out what they mean. You've never actually learnt sign language, though now might be a good time to start. 

"THE HUMAN IS ASKING IF YOU WANT TO DRAW WITH US!" Papyrus chips in happily, and you walk over to sit down with them, saying that you'd love to. Frisk hands you some crayons, and you think for a while about what to draw. Eventually, you draw a cute little black cat, and have it doing various activities. Eventually, the cats designed spiralled off into it being a human cat girl, a cute little chibi with some ears, a tail, and a cute little bell. Papyrus and Frisk start making comics, with Frisk making one about a little flower who explores the underground. Papyrus makes one about a great royal guard, who was very popular and had lots of friends - he stressed both of those points when showing it off - the guard was also a tall skeleton and had a short brother. They also lived in the underground. It fascinates you, how they both portray the underground. Frisks take place all over, and it confuses you how all of these different locations can be under 1 mountain, and you wonder if they're actually real places in the underground, or whether it's their over-active imagination.

"That looks great Pap." Sans looms over all 3 of you, as Papyrus flicks through his comic once more. Papyrus beams with a sense of accomplishment as he holds his comic up. Frisk signs to Sans, pouting. Sans chuckles slightly, ruffling their hair. "Yours is great too. But uh, why a flower?" Frisk makes some more signs with their hand, and you feel your ears twitch a little more as they sign again. Sans nods in understanding as they sign. Yeah, you totally had to learn sign language, you can't really understand what's happening at all. Sans looks slightly uncomfortable as Frisk keeps explaining about the flower, and you wonder why. Its a flower, with a face. Its not that scary, is it? 

\-----

It's late now, and Frisk and Papyrus are both taking up the entire sofa lounging around, watching some anime show. You recognise it vaguely, you think its called Tokyo Mew Mew - the younger orphanage kids used to watch it. You walk past, and glance at the clock. You haven't been doing much, just some tidying up. Papyrus told you where everything came from, so it was just mindless tasks to fill up the emptiness. Sans disappeared up to his room, good riddance, and you were becoming hungry. 

You quickly cleared what's left up, and then decided to go on a walk. You should probably tell Sans and Papyrus though, since Frisk is in your care after all. You watch the screen that the tall skeleton and young child are entranced by, and wait for the ads to come on. Soon enough they do, and you tap Papyrus on the shoulder. "Hey, Papyrus, you think Sans would mind if I went on a walk for a bit?" You ask, and he has to try to pry himself away from the screen to look at you. He keeps glancing back, eagerly. They must really like this show... "OH, SURE! I'LL TELL HIM FOR YOU!" He says, and you thank him, before opening the door and walking outside. 

It's colder outside than you first thought, but you keep walking regardless. You walk aimlessly, just thinking to yourself. At the beginning of this adventure, which to be honest, wasn't even that long ago, you had been so pessimistic. You chuckle in spite of yourself, you still kinda were. Well, it hadn't exactly been the bestest start of an adventure, running away from an interview with the government. You wonder how long it'll take for them to find you. What'll you do then? You can't dissapear down Mount Ebbott any more. That was your original plan, if anything were to go wrong. You had it all planned out, ever since you were 7. Being a cat-human hybrid causes you to grow up quicker than you think. You traded out friends for secrets, love for pain, and happiness for loneliness without a second thought. Your thoughts drifted to falling down Mt Ebbott again, not wanting to think about the lifeless husk of a childhood you experienced. 

Technically, you could fall down there. I mean, there'd be nothing to cushion your fall. You'd die. Now that there was no barrier to take away the force impact, killing yourself could actually become reality instead of whatever hell those kids experienced. Were they as lonely and damaged as you? Sometimes, you wished you could talk to them. You'd have nothing in common, not really, apart from the fact you were probably both facing crippling depression and loneliness. Yours was only on occasion though. And today was one of those occasions. You had been walking for some time, and shuddered with coldness. It took you a while to figure out where you were as you looked around. You were on Mount Ebbott. Right at the very top.

A thick blanket of snow was cast over the mountain, and you hissed as coldness and wet sludge seemingly ripped into your soul - and your shoes. You decided to just...have a peek at the mountain. You walked for a good few minutes, and then you saw it. A large, gaping hole that could really swallow you whole. Was that a pun? You couldn't tell. You stood at the edge, and looked down. It was....really dark down there. It'd be so easy to just wander off down there, and never come back. Nobody would care that you'd dissapeared, and you doubted they'd ever find you. If they did, it'd be long after you had died at least. You looked up, and smiled. Maybe it was really for the best, for everyone, if you died. After all, then you couldn't hurt anyone anymore. 

You think of Sans, and how he said that all you were good for was hurting people. That, really was true. So, why the hell not? Running away was practically suicide anyway, you knew deep down you'd never be able to survive. It was only a matter of time. You turned around. Well, you guess that this is the end for you. Suicide really...could be this easy. The fact is slightly terrifying, but you'd been chasing death in a game of cat and mouse for years. You shrugged inwardly, and looked up. Snowflakes continued to fall over the snowy mountain, and over you, gently. You titled your head back further, and a sense of indigo hit you. You felt yourself falling, and then...

You stopped. 

You opened your eyes to see a blue aura surrounding you. What the...hell? You blinked, and raised your hands so they were in front of your face. You felt yourself being gently put down, on a patch of grass filled with golden flowers. They reminded you of Frisks' comic. They're...beautiful. "Kid, the hell did you think doing that?!" You heard a deep voice from behind you. Oh. You slowly turned around. Sans. 

He had one eye blazing blue, the other completely empty. You just glare at him. Why'd he stopped you? He has no reason to. If anything, it'd be beneficial to him if you were gone. Out of the way. That's what he wanted anyway right? His eyes slowly return to normal, and he looks pissed. You just stare at him blankly, feeling something in you dark and deep resonate. Like your very being was wanting to shatter in this very moment. It wasn't a new feeling, you'd felt it countless times in the past. But this was the first time in a while. It was like it was laughing at you, mocking you at the fact you were still alive. To be frank - you hated it. Always have. Always will. It always hurt, whatever it was. "What do you care?" Your words felt as if they were laced in venom as you spoke them, and Sans just watched you, wordless. Slowly, his face of anger dissipated, and he looked sad again. "Don't give me that pitying look." You spat at him, turning away. You feel like he wants to say something, and looks dumbfounded at a loss of words, but you don't want to hear it. You don't need pity, not from him, not from any of his damn monster friends anyway. All they had been giving you is pity. You didn't want it. Not now, not ever. "Y'know..." Sans' voice was hesitant, you could feel it. And you didn't like it. The fact that people have to trod on egg shells around you was always annoying. "I'm gonna guess you don't know how to get home from here." 

"I don't have a home, Sans. I never have." You speak, your voice wavering slightly as a wave of sadness hit you. You were speaking the truth, nowhere has ever really been home. When you lived with your first - and only - family, something had always been off. From the way they looked at you to the way you were treat, you were different. At school, everyone thought you were a weirdo. Same goes for the orphanage. Everywhere you went you were always misplaced, you shouldn't of been there. You had no home. You were unwanted. Always unwanted. "Kid, look at me." You didn't want to face him. Everything within you began to break down, all you felt was shame. You couldn't face him, knowing he had just saved you from killing yourself. Knowing that he had stopped you. It was unbearable to think that he would stop you, that he would care enough to stop you. To think anyone would care enough to do anything but watch. It filled you with incomprehensible amounts of shame. "I'm serious." He sounded gentle. About a million miles away from the Sans that you thought you knew. Hesitantly, you turned around, wishing you could just curl up on in yourself and die. And never come back. Which reminds you of what you just did. Ugh...well done ____. You...really fucked up.

 

He held his hand out to you. You looked at him. He looked so understanding. It just made you feel worse about the situation. You could feel your eyes become misty, and your feet were wobbly. That..really isn't good. You take his hand, and you feel another rush of vertigo hit you. You want to let go of his hand, but he holds you tight. "Don't let go." He whispers, and holds you closer. You close your eyes, and suddenly you fall to the floor. What the hell was that....? You can feel yourself be picked up, and opening your eyes, you've been put on some sort of stool. You look around, your at a bar. It's warm, and friendly. Sans wipes some dust off of the bar, and walks behind it. He rummages around for a few moments, and you watch, curious. Soon enough, he pulls out an entire crate of ketchup, and puts it on the bar. He offers you a bottle. "Want some? Its monster ketchup. It's to die for. Oh wow that was a bad thing to say.." You laugh at the absurdity of the situation, but only slightly. Sans comes and sits down next to you, and you sit in silence for a moment. He pops off the lid to one of the ketchup bottles, and starts drinking it. You watch him in awe, and forget yourself in a mix of questions.He passes you one, and you hold it in both of your hands. "Bone-appetit." He winks at you, and you stare at him like he's mad. He goes back to drinking. 

You feel your eyes become misty again, and you bury your face in your arms on the bar. You can feel Sans' eyes on you as you cry. Your so pathetic, this is like what, the 4th time you've cried this week? You haven't cried so much in your life. Okay, maybe that was only slightly true, there was....one occasion. You shake your head, you don't want to think about it. You sob for a good few minutes, and just sit there in silence. "Sans, I'm sorry." You whisper, and you slowly inhale, and then exhale, bringing your head up. You wipe away the excess tears on your cheeks, and look at the skeleton. "Really." You smile, a pathetic smile, and he smiles slightly back at you. He puts the ketchup bottle down, and looks at it. He looks anxious. 

"You...really worried me there. I'm glad I decided to go after you when Paps told me." He stayed silent for a few seconds. You guessed it was lucky he decided to. Oh god, you would be dead if Sans wasn't there. The thought shook you inside. Sans had just saved you from doing something irreversible. You can't really repay anyone for that. "You gotta promise me something, okay?" He turns to you, visibly shook up. Shaken to the bone. "You gotta promise me right now that you'll never EVER do anything like that again, okay?" He looks at you, and you just slowly nod at him.

"I'm...so sorry Sans. I'll never do it again, I promise." You are a complete wreck of a person. Well, not even a person. A wreck of a being. A freakish fuck up that none of humanity, or monster kind should have to deal with. He relaxes visibly, and then smiles at you. "So, welcome to Grillbys. The place is real shakin'." He makes his bones shake in an attempt at humour. It works, and you giggle slightly. You quickly assessed this situation. You had just been saved from death by a skeleton who was now trying to make puns in an attempt to cheer you up, after chugging bottles of ketchup. "I never thought you could be so humerus." You say, and he snorts in laughter. This completely clashed with the idea of Sans that you had imprinted into your mind. It scared you, to see how nice he could be. 

"But seriously, kid, this place is like my safe haven." He looks around at his surroundings fondly. Seeing him so happy makes you feel a little bit better. "It used to be where I spent most of my time. Before, y'know, the kid came along." He rested an arm on the bar, and looked at you. "Then we were freed, and Grillbs made a place up top. He let me have all the ketchup though. Great guy." He looked away, eyeing all the different drinks and substances that were in the bar. "Which reminds me, if your not gonna have that-" he gestured to the ketchup bottle in your hands. "Then I can always get you an actual drink you know. Whatever you want, monster style." He offered, and you passed the ketchup back to him.

"I don't really drink." You say, and he grabs a drink from the bar, as well as a glass, with magic. He pours it out, and you look at him to see his eye blazing blue again. "Magic is weird." You say, without even thinking. He just shrugs, and you cover your mouth. Shit, was that rude or something? You had no idea. He didn't seem offended. You shrugged to yourself, maybe it was okay. He passed you the drink, and you looked at it. It seemed to be...glowing? Okay, glowing drinks. This was definitely weird. "It's, what do you call it? Cola or something? That. It's that." He stumbled slightly, and you picked it up. You took a sip, and then quickly downed it. It tasted really good. Like normal cola, but..sharper? That must be the magic. You felt your insides go fuzzy, and the world spun for a short moment afterwards. You almost fell backward, and clung onto the surface of the bar for support. You blinked a few times and the feeling dissipated, leaving you confused. Something inside you felt warm and nice. It was new, and confusing. You panicked a bit, but settled down quickly. "That was, uh.." You struggle to find the words, and settle on one. "New. That was, new." Sans finished off his bottle of ketchup. 

"Your first time with monster food? You didn't seem to handle it very well." He looked slightly concerned and you nodded. It tasted great. They got to eat that all the time? Man, were you jealous. "Anyways, Tori is gonna be picking up Frisk soon, and I'm pretty sure Papyrus is gonna be worried if we stick around here for much longer. You ready to go?" He looks away from you, and you think for a moment. You'll have to ask one of them to bring you down the Underground, it fascinates you.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Thanks, Sans." You say, and he looks back at you, a serious face taking hold of his usual casual smile. "They really care about you, and I do too. Sorry for being so hard on you." He says, and then you stand up. He takes suit. "Walking back would take ages, so... you up for a teleport? I did one here, by the way." He says, nonchalantly. It takes a moment for you to process that. He can teleport now as well? Well, thats just....great. Sans sure is intriguing. You shrug. You've both been doing too much shrugging, your shoulders hurt. "I don't have a choice do I?" You ask, and he hesitantly reaches for your arm. You offer it to him, and you can feel the magic radiate off his being. 

"Remember: Don't let go." He says, and then you both vanish. The familiar sense sweeps over you again, and you hold onto Sans for dear life.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OUT LIKE 2 WEEKS AGO I AM SO SORRY ^-^'''''''''''''''''''''''
> 
> \---
> 
> Okay, so - let me explain. I had almost finished this chapter about 2 weeks ago, and I was ready to release it, and then the file got messed up. So I had to re-write it all, while also redecorating my house. ((A lot of stuff is being moved around at the moment, a lot of my times been taken up)) and then we went back to school. I have muscle problems, and we're (fairly sure) that I have a thing called chronic fatigue syndrome. This doubled up with not much sleep at all anyways, redecorating,and running around a big building for a couple hours a day being hated by everyone makes up for a lot of tiredness. So, in short, Ive had no time to re-write any of this because my computer sucks. 
> 
> Again, sorry, and enjoy this chapter to make up for it.

You had stayed up late that night, restless and unable to sleep. Papyrus had seemed content with you lounging on the sofa aimlessly, flicking through a large collection of Mettaton movies, of which he watched until Sans had forcibly dragged him to bed. Afterwards, he didn't come back, but you briefly lowered the Tvs sound slightly, as you could hear the reading of some sort of monster story. It was about 3 monsters who were playing in a flower field one day, but suddenly were picked up by a giant human. The giant human took them to their house, and looked after them in their dollhouse, while also trying to keep the small monsters out of their parents sight. The little monsters caused much trouble, and had troubles adjusting to living in a playhouse. Soon enough, the human decided to take the little monsters home, fitting them with parachutes and acorns for helmets. However; when the human was collecting the monsters, they passed through the barrier. The monsters could not get through it on their own. 

 

Seemingly doomed, the monsters were in a state of disrepair. However; some of the humans friends had noticed the little monsters in the house, and so they frequently visited the monsters, mostly when their friend was not even in the house, but out looking for food for their friends. The human girl fell in love with one of the monster girls in the house, and decided she would take the monsters home - and she would go and live with them. They casted a spell that changed her soul, and shrank her, and then she proceeded to get her own parachute and acorn hat, and use the magic retained in her soul to take herself and the monsters safely home. Sans stopped there, and you could hear a low snoring sound coming from Papyrus' room. Then, you tune back into whatever's on TV, and continue to watch cheesy movies with a certain gay robot in them. 

It's not like you really enjoyed the movies, and you have a hard time believing you'd be able to befriend the robot if you were to ever meet him in person. However, the awful plotlines and bizzare situations that occur in the movies leave you fairly entertained. It's now you realise that it's 4am, and you need a drink. As well as sleep. Sleep is usually a good thing. Switching off the TV, you slowly rise up, shuddering slightly at having to leave your snuggly, curled up spot on the sofa. You stumble into the kitchen, and then remember the sink. It's ALL the way up there. For a moment, you entertain the thought of scaling up to the sink, and before you know it, your standing on the kitchen counter brandishing a plastic cup as you try to get up to the sink. Eventually, after scrambling up the side of the cupboard, you hastily get a cup of water, and almost pour it on yourself as you get down. However, the water has been secured you down half of the glass and proceed to walk to your room. You quickly delve under the sheets after leaving the water on the side, and revel in its warmth. 

You slowly sit up, rubbing at your blurry eyes in an attempt to focus more on your surroundings. The world is spinning ever so slightly as you reach for the water left on the side, and gulp it down your dry throat. You glance around for any indication of the time, to no avail. Rising up, you look out of the window, and notice the sun in the distance. Well, at least the sun is still up. You're about to exit your room, when you trip over something. You stumble into the door, and wince in pain. Turning around, you notice your bag on the floor. Picking it up, you hastily look inside. There's a note slipped inside of it, and you quickly pick it up. It reads: "HEY NERD! WE FOUND THIS IN THE CAFE, LOOKS LIKE YOU LEFT IT. SO, I ASKED METTATON TO DO ME A FAVOUR AND RETURN IT! ~UNDYNE." It's all capitalised, in a very aggressive manner, but you thank her for it mentally. And then it registers in your mind that she didn't drop it off, but rather Mettaton did. And your betting any money that Mettaton is the same gay robot you were watching on TV last night. He had been in your room to drop that off right? Oh dear god. 

You look at the contents of the bag, and then quickly realise that you've 1: been wearing the same clothes for days, and that 2: YOU LEFT YOUR BAG IN A CAFE UNATTENDED FOR DAYS. And to say that what little of what was in this bag was your survival kit...you curse yourself out in your head, looking through the bag. Hopefully, Undyne didn't actually look in the bag, or take anything, just slipped the note in. You check for your things: money, all accounted for. Clothes, check. Deodorant, check. A couple of bandages and plasters, yeap. Everything was still in here. You breathe a sigh of relief, and then realise you should probably get changed. Hastily, you change out of your leather jacket, black top and jeans into another black top, and some black, ripped, leggings. You don't have another jacket, however you do have a dark purple hoodie, so you put that on instead. Next, you brush your hair as best you can, dodging your ears skillfully. You quickly put your cap back on though, its like some sort of shield emotionally for you. 

Then, you quickly fold up the clothes to the best of your ability, before stuffing them in your bag. You leave it at the foot of the bed, exiting out into the corridor/living room area. Situated on the couch is Sans, and he seems to be asleep. Next to him is Papyrus, and you recognise the metallic voice of a certain robot, talking about his legs. You look at the expression on Papyrus' face, and its rather amusing. He is completely awe-struck with a child like wonder sparkling within his eye sockets. He has both of his hands on where his cheeks should go, as he makes some kind of futile attempt to compress his face. It's frankly adorable, and its here and now that you decide Papyrus is going to be labelled the cinnamon roll of the monsters. You walk behind him, noticing that he is completely immersed in the movie. So much so he hasn't noticed your presence at all. You sneak up behind him, and get close to where - you presume - his ears are. 

"Hi papyrus." You whisper, and recoil quickly as the skeleton shrieks and jumps out of his seat. Sans notices one eye as the skeleton quickly whips around to face you. "H-H-HUMAN! YOU SCARED ME!" He says, in an octave higher than the one he usually speaks in. You laugh as he shakes slightly, and..is that sweat on his forehead. He looks nervous as you quieted down. "Sorry Papyrus, I guess I really rattled your bones huh?" You make a pun without realising it, and notice as Papyrus groans loudly. "SAAANSSS YOU HAVE INFECTED THE HUMAN WITH YOUR CHEESY PUNS!" He moans to his brother, who looks on with a grin still place don his face. You can hear him snickering slightly. Papyrus looks like his doom is immediately imminent. It's amusing. 

"Sorry Papyrus." You say, half apologetic. He looks like a hurt puppy, and you just can't help but feel bad for him. Damn him and making you feel emotions. "IT IS FINE HUMAN! THOUGH, YOU HAVE ALERTED ME TO THE TIME. I MUST BE OFF!" With that, he sprints off up the stairs, and your left to look quizzically at Sans. "Mettaton came round earlier," He starts, looking displeased. "Him and Paps are goin' out somewhere fancy, gave him a couple of hours to get ready." You nod in understanding. 

"Are him and Mettaton-" He glares at you, and you quiet down. Defensively you take a step back, and he cools off, shutting his eyes. You didn't even know skeletons could do that but hey, you gotta sleep somehow right? But Sans always looks so tired. It's just kinda presumed he never sleeps, from his face. Papyrus however, you've heard him snore, so it does make sense. It takes you a moment to realise you've been staring, you quickly look away, and towards the kitchen. Your stomach rumbles, and Sans looks confused as to what the sound was. 

"I'm hungry, we got anything to eat?" You ask, looking towards the kitchen. You hadn't had anything till last night, and you realise your starving to half death. He shrugs. "There's pasta." Something you've quickly taken note of is the surplus of pasta that the brothers have. In fact, you think that's all they have. That's slightly worrying, but then again, they don't need the same nutrients as humans - you assume - and nobody seems to complain when they're fed spaghetti. Perhaps its the only thing Papyrus can make. Maybe its the only thing he wants to make. You decide to grab money from your bag, and then you hear a loud commotion from the living room. Opening your door, you notice that Papyrus is in the arms of a robot, being carried as what can only be described as a damsel in distress. There are camera flashes through the windows, and Sans looks agitated. "Well then Sans, me and my dar~ling Papyrus must be off, ta-ta dearie!" You walk into view as he turns around, and your quite happy to have not been bothered by him. If San's' expression was anything to go by, as he was looking quite displeased.

"OH! HUMAN!" Papyrus you traitor.

The robot quickly turns on its glittery pink heels, and looks in your direction. You quickly try to divert your gaze away, but it's already too late. "Oh~ who do we have here?" He practically purrs at you, and you take a small step forward. "I'm ____, I'm temporarily living with these guys." You say, thinking that can suffice as an introduction. You don't really want to be giving your life story to some robot that could expose you to the world, and now your face to face with the guy, your on edge. He makes you want to hide. Which is the reason that you came here in the place. It makes you rethink all your plans. It was kind of stupid, actually. 

"Oh~! Thats a lovely name. Well, its lovely to meet you, ______ - but I do have business to attend to. I'll make sure to come round so we can become...properly, acquainted, dear~" He laughs a little bit, and makes a point of looking to Papyrus when he says he has business to attend to. With that, he flips his hair, still carrying Papyrus who squeals giddily, and kicks the door open, suddenly enveloped in flashing lights. Sans points a blue hand at the door, and it slams. Hard and loud. You look down at the money in your hand, folding it up in an attempt to not look awkward. Going outside the house may not be a wise move right now, you realise, and then you look to Sans. He's...yeah he's pissed. 

"What's the money for?" He gestures to your hand, and you can see that he's forcing a smile onto his face as he looks expectantly at you. "I was going to go get food - stuff that isn't pasta. It's not good for humans to only eat pasta, and since I'm probably going to be here a while..." I'm going to need actual food that doesn't contain glitter for my meals, you think, but you don't say that out loud. He nods his head. "Want me to come with?" He offers, and you accept. It might be good for him to be able to forget about Papyrus and Mettaton, so why not do some shopping. Even if it is for food, you remember your orphanage days. How you were one of the only ones trusted to the shop alone, and therefore, were the one responsible for most shopping duties. You'd always do them on your way home from school; and spend a good 2 hours in there - even if you only needed some bread. It was a good way to stay away from the big house, in which everyone was a monster, ready to attack you at a moments notice. Just to be in a sea of strangers, who didn't care who you were, didn't care about what you looked like - it felt kind of like you were free for a short while. 

You were used to the lost sensation, but being on your own, with nobody you knew around you, nobody who would remember you ever being there - was peaceful unlike those other times. You smile bitterly as you both exit the house minutes later, Sans locking the door with a blue eye. You look up and notice its snowing as you walk down the cracked stone path outside of the bland looking house covered in a thin layer of snow, hiding your hand out to catch the delicate flakes. The snow stops once you step onto the sidewalk, and the sky lightens slightly. "Is your house magic?" You ask, as you watch the snow melt in your hand, with no cold feeling left lingering, no water either. 

"Kinda. I guess. I don't know, Alphys did it." Alphys, the scientist reptile that Undynes' dating. You just nod thoughtfully, and the rest of the walk goes on in fairly comfortable silence. Eventually, you find yourselves standing in front of a large Morrisons, and walk through the automatic door after grabbing a shopping trolley. "K, so we need the essentials - bread, milk, meat, vegetables and some fruit. I don't have much though, so we're getting whatever is cheapest." You say, looking at the short skeleton, who looks around with a slight look of disdain. People are going about their daily shopping, but hurry away from you and Sans as you walk down the aisles. Either that or they look displeased, and quickly stalk away, looking disgusted. Your almost done, with 2 80p bread loafs, a 2 pint milk bottle, some cheap cheese - mature cheddar, its your favourite - as well as a pack of ham slices, potatoes, and some quick meals that were on offer. As well as about 4 different boxes of pizza, which were also on offer. All you need now are some bottles of water, and maybe a few snacks, and this should be enough to get you by.

Fate says that you need to have unnecessary conflict in your life, and so making your way down the aisles, a lady jabs you so hard in the side as you pass you could fall over. You cling to the shopping trolley, jerking to the side, bumping into Sans. The woman snarls at you slightly, and you instantly go on the defensive. "Excuse me-" she pauses to look at you, while you look her up and down. She's about 40 something, and quite tall. She wears an office uniform, and looks very displeased at you. "But what you're doing is disgusting." She spits the words out like venom, and you can feel a small crackle of magic erupt from behind you. You can hear an eruption of whispers as a small crowd forms, tension building between you and this complete stranger. 

"I'm shopping with my friend, I can't see how that should be a problem." Your side still aches slightly, and she's now turned to face you. She looks down at Sans in disgust, and he's now at your side. You place a hand on his shoulder, and you feel him flinch slightly. The crackling gets worse. She hasn't noticed. "A human being friends with a monster is preposterous! It's disgusting - that thing there next to you is disgusting! Your going to hell, you're going to hell for sure." You take a step back as she leans into you, grip tightening on the shopping trolley, and Sans. 

"Well, if people like you are let into heaven who in their right minds would want to go there anyway? I'll take my chances in hell thanks." You smile at her, as she takes on a face of astonishment. Your about to turn around and walk away, when you feel a force on your cheek, forcing your head to the side with a sickening crack. She holds her hand up, and it takes a moment for the stinging to set in, and for you to realise she just slapped you. There's a larger crowd now, and more seem to be cheering her on. Your ears are pointed, and you narrow your eyes, and you realise you could bring your hand up to her face, and shred her with your nails alone. You feel something pulling you along suddenly, and its Sans, pulling you back down the aisle and towards the cashier. You try to shake him off you, but his grip is strong, and quite painful. He makes a growling noise, and his pupils are gone. You string the shopping trolley along. "Sans - ow - can you get off my arm it hurts...Sans! Please!" He doesn't answer you, as he pulls you along to the self checkout services. Quickly, he scans everything, not even bothering to look in your direction. Peoples stares are increasingly obvious, and you can tell that there's a red mark on your cheek. Its painful, and you just bag up all the food, before throwing it back in the trolley. 

Before you can take the bags before your outside of the store, your back in the living room. A small rush of vertigo hits you for a split second, and then you realise you've teleported. Sans let's go of you, and you quickly pull your arm close to you, rubbing at it. It's hurting, not as bad as your face, but it's hurting, and you can tell its going to bruise. Sans' walks off without saying anything, and your left in the room with a shopping trolley full of food, and 2 new injuries. You realise you've just technically stolen a shopping trolley as you push it through to the kitchen, but you don't really care. Everyone was looking at you, and you can't shake the feeling of being watched as you put all the food away in the cupboards and the fridge. You quickly walk back to your room, the hunger subsiding and being replaced by shame at the fact you just got shown up in front of a load of strangers, and slapped by one. And you were completely defenceless, with a skeleton having to pry you away from the scene. You hear a ringing sound come from your bag, which strikes you as odd, as you didn't have a phone. You smashed it up, and threw it away at the orphanage. 

You fish out the ringing thing anyways, and it's a flip phone. It's slightly bigger than the average touchscreen phone, and still has buttons. They don't have numbers though - instead they're just blank. 2 buttons at the top are lit up, one a green phone and another a red phone. You click the green one, and then have to peel the phone away from your ear quickly as a yell erupts out of the phone. "HEY PUNK!" However, when you pull away it doesn't get any quieter. Which is odd. You realise the phone doesn't have speakers. Odd. "Undyne?" You ask, and then you realise it might be her phone. Which, would mean she's been in your bag. 

"U-Undy-y-yn-e d-sont s-s-sca-ar-re __-_--_____ like t-that..." Alphys' voice comes from the other side, quieter than Undynes. You thank her silently, as Undyne quieted down. "Anyways - punk! Alphys said we should call to check your okay, apparently something happened while you were out!" She says, cheery. You can tell she's slightly concerned, but probably thinks its nothing much. Which is isn't, not really. "Oh." You say, trying to collect your thoughts quickly to explain. "We went shopping for food, since I need things other than spaghetti, and some people didn't want us there. So they yelled at us. We left though." You hear a hmmm down the other side of the phone, and you think that Alphys has scampered off somewhere by now. Oh well. "Are you okay?" Her tone is more serious now, and the cheer has left. You muster a mhmm, and she seems mostly satisfied with the answer. "Look, there's a video on the human internet, it's already got 2,000 views. I'm going to watch it okay? I just want to see what happened." 

Someone was recording that? You feel yourself die inwardly. "Wait, before you do - whose phone is this?" You ask, and she snickers slightly. 

"It's yours dummy!" She says, as if it were obvious. You instantly deny that fact, because it looks nothing remotely like your old phone, and you sure as hell don't remember buying a new one. "It's a monster phone, you dummy! Every monster gets one - even humans if they're good enough friends with us. Asgore assigns them to people - even Frisk has one. It's how they talk to us!" So Frisk can talk. Using a monster phone. Can they not use a normal one, or are they mute? Are the phones magic? 

"The phones are indeed magic. Well done!" Undyne says, rather sarcastically, answering that question. "Anyways, yeah, I'm going to watch this video - go do whatever human thing you need to do." She puts down the phone before you can reply, and you just sigh. You don't want to eat anything right now, but the rumbling of your stomach doesn't allow you to put it off any longer. You rush to the kitchen and put a pizza in the oven, turning the TV on as you wait. Your minds wander back to the start of this whole thing again, and you realise how stupid this plan was. 

Because running away to the most watched place on earth was a great idea. Try to blend in while being friends with monsters, and not get noticed - yeah that'll work. People hate monsters! Not all of them - but most do, and they'll be ruthless about it. People have no tact these days, and its insanely obvious. Vandalism, even murder, its all terrible. And yet you decided to come here. Could have gone anywhere else, but nope - go the place your most likely to have been found. And yet, nobody has caught you yet. Which makes you wonder, were you just being insanely paranoid when you made this trip? "We interrupt this programme for a shocking news story. An 18 year old boy by the name of Sam has gone missing from his home. Police reports say there were no traces of the boy, however all belongings were missing from his home." Sam. As in....? A picture flashes on the screen, as your blood runs cold. Sam Anderson. You really DON'T want to talk about Sam. Not today. You turn off the TV, and take your pizza into your room not even bothering to not burn yourself as you throw it on a plate hastily. Then, you walk back to your room in silence, eat 2 slices of pizza, before deciding your not hungry, and sleeping. Really, today has been TERRIBLE.


	9. Broken.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "That's your soul, kiddo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ive had a brainstorm for this story, and all I can say is get ready for a ride! Also I may not be able to write as often at the moment, school and stuff, but when I can I will! THANK-YOU for reading this far!
> 
> EDIT:  
> By the way, THANK-YOU FOR OVER 500 VIEWS AND 50 KUDOSES! I seriosuly never expected this to get that many views at all, so thank-you for giving my story a chance!

You woke up to the sound of shatering glass. Quickly, you shot up out of bed, and try to fling your door open. Then you remember the lock. There are shouts, loud and angry. The sound of tearing, ripping, and canisters clattering to the ground. You fumble with the lock, ready to snap someone in half. Before you can something large collides with the door, shattering it to splinters. It knocks you off your feet, and you stumble backwards towards the open window. You feel a tear in the air as you cling onto the window frame, people charging into the small room. The window was what smashed, you quickly realise, as blood pours from your arm. It's painful, and you wince in pain as a hazy figure grabs you by your throat, and slams you against a wall. You throw your arm up hastily, and kick them square in the stomach as their face is ripped by your sharp claws. 

Without thinking, you throw them out of the way and oo the bed, escapign into the main part of the house. As you enter, you have to shield your eyes, as a large flash of blue light erupts from the centre of the room. Sans. What the fuck is happening? Your tackled from behind, and pinned to the floor. A glass shard is held at your throat, and you have no way of defending yourself. There's yelling, screaming, and you can feel the world get practically torn in half. The person pinning you down is swallowed up in a blue aura, and screams incessantly as he's flung away. You sit up quickly, and turn around to see Sans floating, a rip in time and space itself behind him, threating to swallow up everyone and everything in one. His eye is blazing, and in the other there is no light. 

"SANS!" You scream, not knowing what else to do. He doesn't hear you, sucking up every last person and spitting them into the void like they were not even alive. Then, he easily slips time and space together, and the rip dissapears as he lowers to the floor. "Sans." You say, louder this time, he just stares at the floor, not saying anything. As the situation becomes apparant, you look around the room. Trashed, entirely. How many of them were there? On the wall, spray painted, crudely drawn graffiti, with many racisist slurs. The sofa, seemingly ripped in two, with the insides scattered about the area. The TV crashed through your own bedroom door, and no door left for the front of the house. The stairs bannister has collapsed, and the bathroom has had its sink smashed to pieces, as well as the toilet and cabinets. The light is smashed, and you can't see the kitchen from here. "__________." Sans says, slowly, and empty. He turns away from you, and from his movement you can tell he's looking up.

"You shouldn't have come here." With that, he blips away, and your left in a war zone. What do you do? Undyne'll know what to do, right? You walk slowly into your room, looking for your rucksack. Hopefully the phone isnt busted. You fish it out quickly, and it looks like nobody looked through it, thank god. You dial Undynes' number, which was already here among the list of many others - including Frisks' - and wait. There's a few bleeps, before a sleepy mumble comes from the other side of the phone. "'Sup kid?" She asks, and you walk into the main room. "It's - Oh god..." You feel yourself getting hot in the face. What the fuck are you supposed to say? "I - There's been an attack here - a-at Sans' and Paps' - and-" You see the kitchen, the cupboards are done in, wrecked, pasta spilling all over the floor, trampled. The sink has fallen to the ground, and there's just a pipe left running up the wall. The ovens door has been forcibly taken off, as if someone jumped on it until it snapped, before being done in by a crowbar. It makes you inhale sharply, and you can't help but feel a little upset by the whole thing. "Undyne, what do I do?" You whsiper, desperate. What do you do?

Sans has dissapeared, Papyrus is - thankfully - out, and you've been left alone in this mess of a house. You know they aren't coming out, but everything is such a mess. This is...this is your fault isn't it? They were coming after you, weren't they? You read the text on the wall, and Undyne seems to be caching on. You can hear her voice, but your blood runs cold, and she seems far away, the only thing with you at this moment being the text. "I'm coming for you, little kitten." You whisper, dropping the phone. Only now do you finally notice the blood thats pouring out of your arm, and how much of it there is. You want to scream, but all that you can manage is a gurgle as blood sruges up your throat. Undyne is yelling now, something about getting there soon, and you can hear the roaring of an engine. 

Your head swims, and you sway, falling onto your knees, unable to balance any longer. There's a long cut down your arm, and you feel sick as blood covers your clothes. You only have another set... You feel everything becoming fuzzy and fail to keep a grip on the situation, light headed and tired. "______! STAY WITH US!" Undyne..? 

You try to speak again, but as you do fall onto the floor, blood surging up your throat again, and you only let out a pained gurgle as your nose is blocked up, and you try to wipe at it, smearing blood around your face. There's a bright light, and you try to sit up, but you don't know whether your rising or falling, but something hard hits you, and you feel tears threaten to spill from your cloudy eyes. There's distorted voices and everything hurts, from the very core. For split second everything becomes clear, and you see something black, smokey and firey surge out from you, and everything is suddenly painful, and your muscles begin to convulse around. You want to say that everything looks wrong, it's all red, and blurry, fuzzy, but then you see Undynes face and suddenly you don't want to ask about the sky anymore, because your crying, and you don't know whats happening. Everything is fazing in and out, and you feel something slowly seep into you, and you fall limp. You choke as you try to inhale as a sharp pain pricks at you from your arm, and several smaller ones, and you swallow blood. It's a coppery taste, and it makes you sick to your stomach. If you could, you would throw up right now, but you can't, you can't do anything - and it's terrifying, it's terrifying not knowing what to do. 

Somehow, you've been picked up, and suddenly there are bright lights, and familiarity. You've been here before, but it was bad. You want to warn them that this place is bad, but when you try to sit up, you can't, and someone pushes you back down, an intense wave of vertigo hitting you as you don't know what way up is, and everything seems to be spinning. Your put down somewhere, and then everything goes that same fuzzy it did earlier, and you see it again infront of you, a black, broken swirling cloud of evil. It sinks into your chest, and you want to push it away. When it enters, its painful, so painful the pain causes you to pass out. 

\---

You wake up slowly, and you feel stiff and restrained. Your back in the room you were in after the ears incident, and there's everyone here, gathered around worriedly. Frisk jumps on you the first chance they get, and starts....crying? You reach up to pat them on the bat, and manage to get out a rough sentence. "Frisk...it's okay, buddy." You smile weakly, and Toriel sweeps Frisk up in her arms, patting their back and whispering sweet nothings into the childs ear. Even the gay robot is here, and a very worried Papyrus - complete with a glossy pink lipstick kiss on the cheek. It makes you smile slightly, as you cast a glance over everyone. There's Undyne and Alphys - and Undyne is covered in YOUR blood, making you wince slightly - as well as Toriel, the robot and tall skeleton mentioned earlier, and in the corner, on a stool and facing away from everyone is Sans. Is...he okay? 

"Oh, _______...." Toriel looks at you pityingly, and you crane your head back, closing your eyes. You wish this was a nightmare, but the ebbing pain resounding through your body says it's pretty real. You feel your ears twitch, and hiss in pain. You don't even care anymore, you just got your friends' house completely trashed because you bothered them with your life. Now they're all tangled up in your shit, because your some kind of abomination that doesnt know when to quit living. Sans should have let you fall. "It's so broken..." Alphys whispers. It? So your an it now? That or...that black cloudy thing. Thats broken, and inside of you. Thinking about makes you sour, inside and out. "What....what was that thing?" You ask weakly, and Alphys covers her mouth as if revelaing a huge secret accidentally. 

Nobody wants to say it, and Papyrus turns away, Mettaton with him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He's...crying. This is all your fault. All of this, it's your fault. "G-guys?" You ask again, and nobody replies, and you want to cry, because everything is your fault, your so useless, and all you can do is hurt people. You should be dead, give yourself in, make everything easier. Your such a nusiance, and you want to scream at life, shove all its wrong doings to these monsters in its face, kill yourself for them to be happier if it so god damn demands it. "_____, calm down, it's getting worse... It's your soul, kiddo." Soul...? Your soul is dark and dead, broken, and on fire? What the fuck..? What does that mean anyway? If I die, where does that go? Why is it BROKEN? How do you fix a soul? How broken are you, and have you always been this way? 

"The anestethic is messing with her, you guys should probably leave." Sans says, and everyone does but him.Toriel is the last to leave, Frisk in arms, and looks hesitant, before walking out. You do nothing but lay there like a useless sack of potatoes. He sits in the corner of the room on a stool again, but this time he's playing with his hands, empty inside. "Sans, where did they go?" The rip in space he flung them in. Did they go somewhere else? Or are they trapped in there? Are they dead? He doesnt reply, and you don't want to ask anything anymore. You sit in silence for a few more moments, before he gets up, and moves to the side of you. He looks tired, and he's eyeing up your situation. "Im going to need to change those bandages later...I had to sew up your arm, and Alphys had to help me get the glass out..." He's tracing his cold bony fingers over your arms, and it makes you shiver slightly, but you dont say anything. "Your muscles are badly damaged, you probably wont be able to use your arm right for weeks, I'm surprised its still usable." His fingers trace where you can feel a cut, and probably where he had to sew your arm back up. Then, to your face, and past them to your ears. 

He just stares at them with some kind of awe, and a mix of sadness in his expression. It's then you think he finally registers you as there, actually there, not just a shell, and pulls away. "They know now, you know. There's no reason to hide them." You smile weakly, bitterly. "They didn't care, you know. That your..." He doesn't want to say it, and so instead he opts for gently rubbing one of your ears. He stops quickly, and you try to lean back slightly. That was nice, but painful. "Sorry, uh, sensitive, huh?" He asks, and you nod slowly. He looks away, awkward. This whole thing is very awkward. Your so tired... You let out a yawn without realising, and then you feel your tiredness on you like a rock. "Go to sleep, I'll be here if you need anything." He walks back over to the stool, and settles down. Instantly, it looks like hes out like a light, but you can kind of tell he isn't. He looks so tired... You close your eyes, today has been so long, and you don't want to be in it anymore. You slip into sleep quietly.


	10. Hot bartenders and pirate ships.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Its Kyle, from your....first family."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER PROBABLY HAS SPELLING MISTAKES AND GRAMMAR MISTAKES A PLENTY, AND I APOLOGISE. 
> 
> I tried to make this as long as possible to make up for the lack of updates and crazy update schedule I have. Also, we have made it 10 chapters. For most,t hats probably not a huge achievement, but for me it is, as I've never really bothered that much to continue things after their first couple chapters, but for me to get this far its thanks to all you people reading this! So, thank you, for reading, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

When you wake up, Sans has fallen asleep at the foot of the bed, and is wearing glasses and a lab coat. Weird, you never thought that skeletons could need glasses, their eyes are kind of like magic, aren't they? Oh well, you shrug, and feel a dull ache echo through you. Looking down at your arm, its been re-bandaged, and now has cloth tying it up, like a swing for it you suppose. It's supposed to keep it in one place. You try to move it, and it swings, but trying to move your fingers causes pain within your arm, and you stop that quickly. You move your other arm without issue - luckily thats your writing arm, so you can still write stuff, and do everything mostly. You want to look under the bandages and see the damage, but at the same time, you're dreading it. What if its really gruesome? Just how badly damaged is it? 

"No touching it." And he's awake. You look at him, and he's back to grinning again as usual, pausing for a moment to yawn. You look at him, and your kind of curious - how does he work? How does he shut his eyes? Yawn? Eat? How does everything stay put together? This was not the time for these kind of questions, although - it doesn't look like you'll be going anywhere for a while. You realise you don't know what time it is, and you can't see the window save for a weird machine to the side that obsturcts your view. The door to the left of you opens slowly, and a happy skeleton face peeks out from behind it. You smile slightly, and they tentatively take a step isnide, like a little puppy. Papyrus is adorable, you think, as he slowly reveals a plate behind him. "Hello human, I have made you some upsetti spaghetti." His voice is much more quiter and softer than usual, and he holds out the plate infront of you. You slowly take it, and note that its still warm. The spaghetti is completely COVERED in sprinkles and edible glitter, and your pretty sure that whatever this is made form is not pasta and meat, but instead candy and chocolate. 

"You didn't have to Papyrus, really." You smile down at the food, appreciative of the gift, before looking back to the tall skeleton. He fidgets nervously. "Well, whenever I was upset, me and Sans would make some, so I thought it would help you too. I hope you like it human!" He exclaims happily, and you wonder what that would look like. How often did Papyrus get upset anyway? Where does this come from? "It looks great Paps." Sans speaks up finally, and he's back in his normal clothes now, glasses missing. Papyrus shuffles back slightly, and shrinks away. It makes you sad, and the happiness vanishes slightly. "Human...did...did we do that?" Your confused for a moment, and then you see him eyeing your chest. Pretty sure he's not checking you out, you realise he must be talking about your soul. Sans doesnt say anything, and Papyrus looks...afraid as he stares at you. "I-...of course not Paps...I...I think it's been broken for a long time. But..I'm okay, I promise!" You don't know if pormising him your okay is a good thing, but he seems satisfied with it, and brightens up slightly. 

"Hooray, your okay!" He hugs you, and you wince in pain slightly. He quickly pulls away, blushing slightly. "Im sorry human! I forgot you are delicate right now!" He's sort of yell whispering, if thats possible. Which for now, your thinking it is. You notice Frisk climbing up Papyrus' legs, and then realise that everyone else must be waiting outside, and coming in oen by one or something. Frisk has been spotted, and they know it, however they motion for you to keep quiet, and you nod slightly. "So, Paps, where is everyone else?" You ask, as Frisk slides up his back like a ninja. 

"They're outside, can I bring them in? Frisk really wants to see you!" He exclaims, and you nod happily. Frisk is now on his shoulders, and before Papyrus goes to spin around, they cover Papyrus' eyes. "AH! I CANT SEE!" he exclaims, and Frisk laughs, uncovering his face. They hang over his head, and he picks them up in his arms and spins them around the room happily. Watching the sight makes your heart warm, and you feel just a little bit of determination flow through you. There are monsters, and people, you can't give up on. Even if you did make it so their house was trashed - which was not your IDEA, but still your fault - and caused them bother. Soon, everyone has filtered in, in pajamas no less, and it seems they're all very inteent on a sleepover. Sans and Alphys have wheeled in a big TV, and Undyne holds an entire bag full of anime dvds, looking through them with Frisk and Papyrus draped over eahc one of her shoulders. 

"Frisks' favourites are all the romance ones, same with Papyrus, but, personally my favourite is ONE PUNCH MAN!" She punches her fists in the air dramatically, as if mimicking the main character himself. She then spreads out all of the cases infornt of you, and you read them. There sure is a lot... "I can't choose! I don't know!" You have no idea what your doing, or what you'd even like! Alphys suggests Ouran High School Host Club, and you immediately regret not picking one at random. An anime about prety people entertainign pretty people? No thank you. You move your pillow to the bottom of your bed, and lay down, with Frisk by your side, being small enough to fit. The lights are turned off, and you have a bit of an awkward moment trying to sit confortably with your arm in its weird cloth and bandages. Eventually you do, and Alphys starts off the DVD. The anime is actually pretty good, and by episode 10 Frisk is well asleep, curled up snugly next to you. Once again your tired, and looking at everyone, Papyrus and Undyne have both fallen asleep. Toriel is almost asleep too, and you, Sans and Alphys seem to be the only survivors. Does that skeleton ever sleep?

By episode 15, Alphys is gone, and you have no idea about Sans. He moved to be close to the TV, and now you can only see the side of his skull, and not even his eye sockets. Your beginning to get tired, and feel yourself dropping around episode 20. How long have you been watching this now anyway? You can sleep, right? Episode 20 ends, and you end up closing your eyes. You don't even hear the opening to the 21st episode before you're fast asleep. 

\---

"HUMAN! WAKE UP!" Papyrus' voice wakes you from your slumber, and you get up sleepily. You almost forget for a moment about your arm, and fall on it painfully. You sit up eventually though, and mask the pain. You can do this, you are determined to. Papyrus has backed off slightly, seeing your fristration and pain. You turn to him eventually, and notice that Undyne and Alphys have left, leaving you with a sleeping Frisk and goat momma and 2 skeletons. "You did not eat your upsetti spaghetti, so I was going to ask if it was okay if me and Frisk eat it!" He's yell-whispering again. "Of course you can! I'm just not hungry right now, sorry Paps." You apologise, feeling guilty. It looked alright too... When was the last time you'd eaten? Your stomach growls faintly in respinse to your question, and nobody picks up on it. Toriel is beginning to stir, and Frisk has struggled to get out of her arms, and now sneaks behind Papyrus. They tap him, and sign furiously, and Ppayrus furrows his...non existant eye brows in response. You look at him confused. 

"The human said we should take you to Grillbys, but I don't like it there. It's so..GREASY!" He says the last word with so much discomfort that it looks as if talking about it sends him into literal pain. "Oh, isn't Grillbys that bar under the mountain?" You recall the talk you had with Sans there. It'd be nice to go there again, although you recall another Grillbys being run on the surface by a monster now you think about it. A lot of monsters started up a buisness when they came to surface, and whoever owns the bar probably did too. Frisk signs happily, and way too quickly to register in your mind. You pick up words such as 'sans' and 'ketchup'. Of course. "The human says that Sans ruint their food with ketchup there." Ppayrus translates. Sans chuckles, and you jumo slightly. How long had he been there? Jeez.... "Thats right bro. We can go now if you want, and Paps, just get a salad or something." Sans offers, and Frisk nods incredibly enthusiastically, and Papyrus looks displeased, and inbetween on the issue. "Well....if its for the human, I guess its okay." He nods happily, and Frisk hugs his entire head. Man, Frisk sure is agile. They can climb that skeleton like he's a jungle gym. 

"In that case, you wanna go right now? I know a shortcut." Sans offers, and you delicately stand up out of bed. It pisses you off slightly that youve been in bed for so long, that your being treated like a rare and fragile flower, but its better than just sitting around doing nothing. You look down at yourself and notice that these aren't your clothes. So who's are they? You wear a checkered black and bright blue t-shirt, with jeans and no shoes. You look around for your own, and notice that Frisk is holding them up to you. You take them, and put them on. Then, you stand back up, and prepare for another teleport. This time, Sans opens the door, and you all walk through into a bar, instead of actual teleportation. Well, not like it isn't real teleportation, it is, but its not just standing still. It's easier to believe that the bar was always on the other side of the door, and that there's nothing unusual about that. 

The place is filled with monsters, and they happily greet Sans as you walk to the main bar. This place looks exactly the same as the place you and Sans were talking about, apart from there are so many more interesting monsters here. That, and its a lot warmer. You realise that that may be because of the bartender. He's made out of fire, and as you all sit down, you notice that Papyrus is eyeing the jukebox. It plays a jaunty tune, and you place your bad arm on the bar, leaning on it slightly. The bartender and Sans are chatting, and Frisk is talking to one of the large dogs in the corner, petting them. They bark happily, and you smile at the sight. "Hey Paps, why don't you go say hey to them too? They look like they're having fun." You turn to Papyrus, who just rubs the back of his non-existant neck and smiles clumsily. "I would, but because theyre ahving fun, I dont want to ruin it! So, I'm okay sitting here. Besides, Im having fun too!" He cheers, and he's a lot quiter than usual. Not yell-whispering either, he's just...quiet. Is Papyrus shy?

"Hey bro, you want a milkshake? They're real good, trust me." Sans offers, casually leaning on the bar, his usual smile on his face. Papyrus happily agrees, and becomes as loud as ever. Frisk eventually wanders back over, tugging on your good sleave. She points at the dogs, and signs to Sans. "Hey, _____, do me a favour and go meet Frisks' friends? They say the dogs really want to." Frisk jumps about happily, and to be honest, who can say no to that face? "I'll order for you guys, k?" Sans offers, and you nod as the kid leads you away to the corner by the dogs. It's surprising that they can speak, at first. 

"Hey kid, did you bring your friend? I can only see moving things." One shifty eyed dog says, and Frisk grabs your hand and makes you shake it around. "Oh, hey. Im Doggo." There's a ruff from the other side of the table, and a large dog in a metal suit yaps at you. Then, it jumps out of the suit, and is apparently much smaller than the suit, trotting over towards you. You outstretch a hand, and it sniffs it tentaively; before licking you. You giggle happily, and then Frisk takes the dog. They sign to it, and the dog shakes, an orb dropping out of its fur. How did you not see that? Magic? Probably magic. 

"And this is dogamy and dogaressa." You hear small voice speak up from somewhere, but you can't tell where. Frisk is signing at two dogs with sycthes, and you presume they must be dogamy and dogaressa. They say they can't smell what you are, but Frisk signs at them and they understand quickly. Frisk pets them both, and they seemingly go crazy, like giving a cat catnip. You laugh at the sight, and realise this might be the most you've laughed in a while. Sans eventually calls you back over to the bar, and passes you some chips and a burger. "Bone-appetit." A drum sounds, and he winks. Wait, does this place have a drum set? Frisk snickers at the joke, and Paprus groans, telling his brother how terrible he is. Sans just shrugs it off, and asks for a bottle of ketchup. Frisk just has chips, and Papyrus has only a milkshake. Sans has the same as you. You take a chip, and it feels...different to you. It has the same texture as a regular old chip, but it's different. You at the chip, and it...dissapears? A warm fuzzy feeling emminates slightly in you, and you blink in surprise. You eat another chip, and again, it dissapears. It's not like you aren't eating it, but you dont need to actually...eat it? 

You keep eating the chips, and then you realise you've finished them. So, you eat your burger. Papyrus has a refill on his milkshake, and you can't help but smile as his face brightens up as he watches the fiery bartender whip up the drink in some magicial ways. He even adds extra chocolate flakes onto the top of the whipped cream, before adding in a curly straw and a small umbrella. The whole spectacle was really impressive, actually. Soon, everyones finished eating, and you all walk out of the bar. Eveyr monster says goodbye to Sans and Frisk, and the dogs also give a goodbye to Papyrus. Wow, Sans is really popular with the monsters. 

One teleportation later, and you're standing at the foot of the building you've been in the past couple days. Only now you see the sky, and it can't be later than 2pm. It's quite empty today, actually. You've got too much energy, and you need to go for a walk. You are a cat, and cats don't just stay cooped up all day! "Hey, how about we go for a walk or something? It's still early." You suggest, as Sans is about to open the door to what you now refer to as the lab. He shrugs, and turns to Frisk, who nods eagerly. Papyrus also seems very excited, and picks Frisk up in a piggyback, sprining down the streets. And you thought you had a lot of energy stored up... 

"Even though he's about the same age as you, he's still a kid, huh?" You hear Sans mumble, watching Papyrus and Frisk sprint off ahead. Both of you struggle to catch up, before opting to walk instead. They stay a fair distance away, but never once dissapear from sight. Soon, you begin to notice that the houses look nicer, and you've been walking for some time. There are few more people around, and more apartment buildings that look actually pretty good. You pass by a few shops, and there are people staring. You look away. You don't even want to think about everything right now. You all make it to the park, where there's a large climbing frame paired with several slides, a water fountain area, and several other playground strutcures such as swings and a small zipline from one side of the park to the other. Frisk and Papyrus have both summoned pirate hats from seemingly nowhere, and are now running about on a very large pirate ship half inbedded into the ground. Several other small children are walking about, however many parents have re-directed their children to other places around the pirate ships. Not that either the skeleton or small child have noticed, but it still makes you frown slightly as you watch the two. Monsters are so friendly, why would they not want people to go near them? 

"They're scared of what they don't know." Sans states, looking over Papyrus as he pretends to steer the ship fondly, as if he were reaidng your mind. You both end up sitting on a large rock next to the water fountains, and watch as the two whir around and around the boat, doing various activities such as firing the cannons - which are small steerable water fountains on the ground that can squirt at your feet - or looking for treasure and land via the telescope in the crows nest, accessible from a rope ladder as well as a small rock climbing wall. The whole pirate ship is surrnded by that squishy kind of multicoloured plastic flooring that comes in small bits, so if you fall you don't get too damaged. You then notice that a girl about your age, with dark brown hair and a white t-shirt with a purple hoodie, has started walking about the boat with what seems to be their younger sibling. 

Their younger sibling has a black hoodie, and sunglasses. It's a little boy, and they seem to be pretending to be a spy. They don't get in Frisk and Papyrus' way, but it's nice to see some aren't bothered by monsters. You feel a tap on your shoulder, and notice that it's not Sans'. Turning around, you see a vaugely familiar face, who brightens up slightly when they see your own face. "Oh hey _____! It's nice to see you again!" You stand up, slightly confused. "It's Kyle, from your...first family. Sorry you might not remember me..." He looks away shyly, and then it connext sin your head. Kyle, from your first - and only - adoptive family. You smile. He remembers you? How? It's been so long. 

"Oh, now I remember! It's nice to see you again! How have you been?" He smiles, and then proceeds to tell you briefly about how his parents have been, and how he's just finished school. Personally, you never did. You were going to, and then well - this happened. So THAT plan went out the window. You chat back and forth a few minutes. Then, a small scream jars you slightly. Whipping your head around to the pirate ship, you see that Frisk is crying, an it was Papyrus who screamed. "Uh, sorry, I've got to go! I'll see you soon, alright?" You ask Kyle, and he nods, giving you his number on a scrap of paper he had in his pocket. You don't think much of it, as you run to the pirate ship. Frisk has fallen out of the crows nest, and fallen. They have a bruise on their knee, and you scoop them up as Papyrus stares, scared, and crying himself. You shush Frisk, who continues slightly crying. The little boy you were looking at earlier walks up as you rock Frisk slightly, holding a lollipop. "Uh, excuse me..." The little boy has taken off his sunglasses, and has taken his jacket off. He wears brown shorts and a blue t-shirt, that has a small rip in it at the bottom. 

"Have this." He waves the lollipop slightly, offering it to Frisk. Frisk takes it, and stops crying. They smile at the boy, and you put them down on the floor. Their sibling catches up, with a box in hand. The boy runs to them, and they have to crouch down to be on eye level with the small child, whsipering, before standing up and walking alongside them toward you. "Hey, saw the kid fall. You want some plasters?" They offer the box out to you, and you thank them appreciatively. Papyrus goes over to Sans to explain whats happened, and Frisk sits down as you grab a plaster out of the box. "Sorry, they have pirates on them, they're Jakes favourites..." You apply the plaster, and Frisk lights up, grabbing Jake and hugging them before they can say no. They blush furiously, and the skeleton brothers walk over. You give the box back to the girl. "Thanks! You and your brother seem really kind, I haven't seen anyone treat monsters like that before." You say. Most monsters and humans generally don't get along. 

"Don't mention it, I work at a monster bar part-time. They're actually pretty cool!" They grin, and Sans and Papyrus have joined you. Papyrus takes the girls hand, and shakes it furiously. She looks slightly taken aback, but shakes back, and smiles at Papyrus, who is blubbering on. "THANK-YOU OH GREAT HUMAN! YOU HAVE SAVED MY HUMAN FRIEND FRISK!" Papyrus then pulls her in for a hug, and she accepts it. 

"Your welcome, Papyrus." She smiles, and he looks stunned. Star-struck almost. "YOU KNOW MY NAME?!" Papyrus squeals, and Frisk grins up at him. He's so flattered, it warms your heart slightly. "Of course! Your infamous around Grillbys, your brother is Sans right?" She works at Grillbys? Cool. Sans waves a hey as if to say 'yeap, thats me.' Papyrus gives her another hug, so tight you have to tap on his shoulder and mention that humans can explode if hugged too tightly. He pulls away, and the girl checks her phone. "Oh! I'm going to be late for my shift!" She panics, picking up Jake. He looks disappointed, as she ruffles his hair. "We'll come back soon buddy. But big sis has to go out to work again, so you're going to have to look after the apartment, k?" She smiles, and the Jake smiles back. She looks apologetically at you. "Im sorry, I've got to go, but hey, swing by Grillbys some time, and we'll talk, k? Bye!" She sprints off, her brother in her arms, before you can say anything. 

"Interesting." Sans says, and you look at him, intrigued. Frisk waves goodbye to them, until they're out of sight. "We should head back then." You say, and you all set off back to the lab. You still feel bad about the house, but oh well. You all enter, and you can smell the scent of...cinnamon butterscotch? "Oh, your back!" Toriel waves you into a room, poking her head out of a door. You all step in, and it's a barren room with a large table in the middle, with several different chairs set around it. There's plates around, with a steaming pie in the middle. It smells so good. She takes Frisk off the floor. "Did you have fun with Sans and Papyrus?" They nod. "What did you do today?" Frisk signs way too quickly for you to catch anything, but they point at their plaster at the end. "You met some friends? They must be good people. Well, lets eat before it gets cold, okay?" Toriel sits Frisk down at a chair, and you sit at one across from them, and next to Sans. You all eat the pie, and its really good, while making small-talk over the table. You smile to yourself briefly, thinking about how nice it is to just sit with people and eat, at a table. Even if everything is mis-matched, and they're monsters. It's fun.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I CAN'T TRUST YOU! NOT ONE BIT!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This chapter was supposed to come a bit sooner, however it didn't. So now, its here!

"WE'RE HERE PUNK!" You can hear Undyne from outside before she even enters - kicks down the front door - of the lab. The door is flung open as you zip up your bag - dust flying up into your face. You accidentally inhale it, and spend a good 20 seconds coughing up what seems to be at least your small intestine before you can breathe sufficiently breathe again. Your arm still has bandages, though it as now healed enough for you to use it again, and you wrestle away from her grasp as she picks you up and lifts you over her head like some kind of trophy. Papyrus throws confetti in your face after she places you back down, and you just check your on the floor. "HAPPY LEAVING DAY!" Both odd fish woman and tall skeleton victoriously yell, and you feel awkward ever so slightly, however you thank them anyway.

 

Papyrus came along because he's leaving for Hollywood with Mettaton this weekend, and Undyne because she's your ride. Sans could have easily teleported you, but gave the excuse he was too lazy, and fell asleep watching the TV that's been in here ever since anime marathon night. He's still asleep now; though he seems to be stirring due to Undyne and Papyrus' loud voices. "Alright nerd, you got everything?" Undyne asks, flicking one of your ears. You quickly bat her away and she laughs full-heartedly as you nod, and smile at her. It's like 7am, your tired, also - not a morning person. Really not a morning person. They really didn't care about your ears in the end, and most of them seem to have just...accepted it. However, it turns out that Sans had sneakily placed your hat on your head when you went to the park, and you didn't go out of the lab that often. If you did, you had to have your hat, otherwise there might be public outrage. Nobody wants that. Papyrus throws you over his shoulder, and you laugh as he charges out the door, while warning him to slow down. He just takes this as encouragement, and runs faster down to the car.

 

Undyne jumps into the front seat as your thrown into the back with Papyrus, and you hear the engine rev up. The car was topless - whether it was this way when they bought it or not you have NO idea - and a glossy red. Apparently, Papyrus was the proud owner of the vehicle, however had his license temporarily revoked by Toriel for reckless driving. So, now until Papyrus could drive safely, Undyne drove everyone places. In all honesty - it wasn't much better. At all. The car zooms off, and you clutch the door with your good arm, wind blowing against your face. Papyrus cackles as you drive off, and you smile. "HANG ON!" Undyne says, way too late, as you swerve around a corner, car tilting onto 2 wheels. You almost go flying out, forgetting about your seatbelt.

 

Then, only seconds later, you crash to a halt. The car wheels screech painfully, and it tips forward before falling back with a bang. You breathe a sigh of relief that you survived the trip, and stay where you are for a second as the world spins. You still clutch onto the door for support, and feel dizzy for a second. This is more jarring than teleporting. "C'MON NERD!" Undyne pulls on your arm, and you smile at her, before jumping out the car. Papyrus and Undyne made a competition: that whoever made it up the stairs the quickest got to pick the first anime next marathon. Trying to keep up, you stopped at about the 12th floor. Turns out, that Undyne and Alphys have a shared apartment. It's a pretty run down place, but both of them work at places that offer them lodging anyway. They never bothered telling you exactly where, just that they aren't home often. So, Papyrus and Sans were temporarily borrowing their main apartment.

 

The building is pretty crummy, and there's random graffiti on the barren, concrete staircase, but its better than the lab. The green had begun to sicken you, and make you feel queasy. Later, you were going to talk to Sans about getting a place of your own, you didn't want to bother the skelebros anymore, and you needed to start working and doing things for yourself. These past 2 weeks you've been waiting for your arm to recover, and practically had to wait on everyone else. Now, you need to get your own job, and work independently. You look to the elevator, and shiftily start creeping toward sit. The hallway is desolate, with peeling wallpaper and eerie silence. You slyly press the button. A flash of blue in front of you, and you quickly shuffle away from the elevator. You've been caught! "Lazybones too, huh?" Sans casually smiles at you, and you deadpan him. "You can teleport." You state, and he shrugs. "Fine then, I was going to offer you a ride to the top but if you wanna walk up the rest of the stairs..." He turns around, and you raise a hand out to stop him. "Wait!" You ask, and he turns around slyly. "Just one teleport?" You ask, and he sighs, shaking his head in disappointment. He can hardly judge!

 

He takes your hand, and you teleport in front of a door at the end of a long corridor. You can hear footsteps approaching from the stairs, and then, simultaneously, a skeleton and a fish lady are bolting down the corridor next to each other. You wave to them, keys in hand, and you smile smugly. Sans teleports away before they notice him, and so its just you. "I win." You say, and mentally thank sans later. "Aww, you don't even KNOW any good anime!" Undyne wails, hanging her head in defeat. You shrug, and she takes the keys from you. "I didn't even see you!" She narrows her eyes, inspecting you for something. Then, she recoils, and grins. "YOU CHEATED!" She calls out happily, swinging the door open. And, as she does, it falls over. Woops. She doesn't care, and marches into the room anyways. "Wha- Did not!" You stumble. Damn it. How'd she know? "You have blue all over you, you can't trick me!" She punches you in the arm playfully, and you feel a quick pain flare up it.

 

You wince slightly, and then recover. Undyne was a pretty hard hitter, but she didn't mean it. But she never once hit Alphys. You think she might break her if she ever did. "What do you mean I have blue all over me?" You ask, looking around the room. Your standing in the main room, which is pretty small. In the centre, there's a sofa with the arms covered in various rips, and lumpy cushions. It's stained, and brown, and looks like it came from a dump. There's cheap green and blue wallpaper, peeling off the walls, and a bulb hanging bare from the ceiling, occasionally flickering. Then, there's an archway infront of you, and 2 doors either side. "Welcome to the...uh...place." Undyne says, looking kind of ashamed by the condition of the place. But she quickly gets over that, and puts on a proud look. "I've got a while before I gotta head out, feel free to look around!" She openly throws her arms out, and you nod at her. "Alright then." You decide to check out the archway first, and it's an even smaller room. There are 2 large, rectangular windows from the roof to the floor beside a double door that opened out onto a concrete balcony, with metal fences that looked less like fences but more like cage walls. The tops were spiky, and you would not want to lean on them. To your right is a miniature kitchen, a small fridge, a small cooker and 1 singular counter. Looking under the counter, you see the sink. It's very bare, and just kinda floats there, held up by piping. Above the cooker, fridge and sink-counter, there are 3 cabinets. One of the doors is falling off of its hinges, and then you remember that the actual FRONT DOOR fell over.

 

The black and white tiles underfoot are cracked and broken, and you turn around to assess the otherside of the room. Mounted on the wall, is a very small kind of breakfast bar with a...half melted at the base barstool underneath it, presumably for sitting on - although you would NEVER sit on it. Ever. And, next to that, another door. This one has a hole in it, and was filled in very haph-hazardly, with duck tape. Poking the duck tape to test it, it went right through to the otherwise and ripped off the door, allowing you to see into the room without entering it. There's a singular, porcelain toilet, with a metal spike coming out of the wall with some cheap toilet paper on it. Why a spike? There's not even a shower in there. "Uh, Undyne, question! Where do you shower?" You ask, and she walks into the room, seeing me looking through the hole. "Did it break again? God damn it... I, uh, I used to shower at the university. Most monsters do, actually. They like, made a shower block specifically for monsters." She explains, and you have to take this in. They had to make a block of showers, at a university, because so many monsters were without showers in their own homes?

 

"Toriel kinda had to convince the government, it went through a lot of things, but eventually we got showers." She shrugs, and you can't help but feel pity for the monster race. You remember Toriel saying something about the university, and the fact that they now had a pre-school as well as secondary school there. Didn't she say she was the headmaster? You can't exactly remember, but it was something important. And she managed to convince the government to make a shower block there too. Props to her. Props to her, indeed.

 

"Okay then..." Papyrus calls out from another room, asking for Undynes help with something. She walks off, and you walk into the main room again to explore the other rooms. You decide to check out Papyrus' last, and go into the room left from the current doorway you stand in. The room is plain, with once again, peeling wall paper, and a simple double bed. Is it on a slant...? The wood has slashes carved into it, and yes, is most definitely on a slant. The dresser on the left of the plain bed only has 1 of three drawers, and there is a black something crawling up the side of it. Well, more like growing. Is that mould? It's black mould. This place is in some desperate need of cleaning... Exiting quickly, you walk into Papyrus' room. He (somehow) has his race car bed, and several half melted action figures laid about on the floor. Undyne is helping him arrange them in a corner, and you smile at how happy and excited he is about it all. You hear a buzz from your backpack, but dismiss it for now as you walk over to them.

 

"You guys hungry?" You ask, but they don't hear you, as they start messing with all the soldiers. Wow, they're really into this. "Guys?" You ask again, with no response. They're now arguing about the best soldier. You sneak around to in front of them, and take the soldiers they're arguing over. It takes them a moment, but as you walk out the door, they run after you, trying to grab them. Eventually, you give them back, but not before asking them what they want to eat. Papyrus offers spaghetti, and you groan in response. You tell him that your going to make them some pancakes instead, and that he can have pasta later. Neither seem to know what pancakes are, so you decide to share the joy of pancaking with them. Can you even make pancakes? It's just batter...in a frying pan. Does this place have a frying pan?

 

You walk into the kitchen as they run back to play with the soilders. You know Sans is awake, so where is he? You ponder whether or not he went back to the lab or slept as you carelessly open the cabinets above the appliances. The door swings right off the hinges, and lunges right at you. You bring up your arm to catch it and throw it somewhere, but before you can its enveloped in a blue aura as you grab it. "You should be more careful." Sans' voice comes from behind you. You mutter something under your breathe and about him being so careless with his magic anyways, so how is opening a door any different, but eventually, you find some flour, eggs, and some sugar. As well as sunflower oil. Talk about un-organised.

 

No frying pans. Or...any cooking equipment, actually. You hear soft snoring from behind you as you place all the ingredients on the small counter. Turning around, Sans has sat on the half melted stool, and is asleep on the desk. Well, since he's asleep, you might as well go ask Undyne. And then remember that you heard something from your bag. You decide to abort eating for a small moment to check your messages, and walk over to your bag. Fishing it out quickly, you saw two buttons lit up. Respond, or Go To Home. You click respond, and see that your...ex-brother texted you.

 

_Kyle: Hey, wondering if your about. Meant to text you a while back, been busy, sorry :(_

**Sis: Oh, its fine, I've been recovering. You saw my arm at the park right? Anyways, what's up?**

_Kyle: Wondering if u wanted to catch up sometime @ cafe tomorrow? I have time off then._

**Sis: Oh sure, I can do that, where abouts and what time?**

_Kyle: I'm free around 8pm if your good, sorry I know its late, but there's a neat little Starbucks near the shopping precinct?_

**Sis: KK, I don't really know my way around the city yet though.**

_Kyle: I can pick you up if you want? Sis: If your okay with it, then I guess so._

_Kyle: See you tomorrow evening then, gtg._

**Sis: Kk, text me before you come pick me up tho.**

 

You close the phone, and sigh slightly. Your going to have to go out shopping for food. But the last time that happened, was then... "Who was that?" You jump, and almost drop the phone after throwing it in the air. Fumbling, you eventually catch it, turning around. Sans. "HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE?!" You screech, still recovering from the sudden shock. He just...shrugs at you. Oh well, thanks Sans. "Were you spying on my conversations?" You ask, and he shrugs again, and walks past you into the kitchen, ignoring your questioning. Thanks. Jackass. "The cutlery is all in the sink. There's 3 plates ,a mixing bowl, a frying pan, some plastic cups, and 2 forks. 1 spoon." Sans states, opening the door to the sink and counter. He offers the pan to you, and you take it, settling your phone down on the breakfast table at the back of the room before turning on the cooker. It's fortunately an electric one, so you cant gas anyone to death. Truth be told - you weren't the best chef, but you could at least make pancakes. At least. Grabbing the mixing bowl, you quickly got to work on making the batter. It'd be difficult to pour in, but oh well. You make quite a lot, and fill the bowl over half way. Its a large, clear bowl with a few scrapes in it, but clean, so there's a lot in there. You check that the stove has sufficiently heated, hovering your hand over it lightly. Then, you pour a small amount of oil into the pan and spread it evenly before grabbing the bowl.

 

Then it occurs to you that your probably going to have to make sure every one gets the same amount of pancakes. But you can't do that if you have one big bowl... You eye the cups. Maybe fill one up for each person? There was a red, two blues, a black - who wants a black plastic cup?! Well, apart from you - an orange, a white, a purple, a yellow, and a couple more colours all stacked together. You grab the orange one for Papyrus, a blue one for Undyne, a black one for yourself, and finally you need to choose a colour for Sans. Undyne has blue. There's no real difference in the blue, apart from the second has a large slash in it. It doesn't stop the cup from being usable, but you can tell it apart. Quickly, you pour all the batter into the cups, and fill them all up to about the same amount. Then, you pour the batter into the frying pan, and start making some pancakes! Then, you remember that you forgot to get the plates out, oh great... "PAPS! UNDYNE!"

 

You yell, picking up the pan, getting ready to flip the pancake as its almost done on the face-down side. They both come running to the doorway, and you look to them quickly. "Can one of you get the plates out? I forgot!" You say, as the pancake sizzles. You take it off the stove, and shake it from side to side slightly o check it can flip. Undyne sets them out on the back, and then the two monsters watch as you get ready to flip the pancake. "Undyne!" Papyrus yell whispers to Undyne as she joins him back in the doorway. "Undyne what is she doing?" Undyne shrugs, and then you do it. The pancake goes flying up, flipping in the air all the way up to the near ceiling. You think it'll hit it, but it begins to fall, on the undone side, and you position the pan to the underneath. Catching it, you hear the two monsters woop and clap, still very much intrigued. You place the pan back on the stove, and wait until the side is done before shimmying the first of many onto a plate.

 

Undyne and Papyrus both run to grab it before you stop them. "Wait a moment! I have made you all pancake cups, that way, when they're empty, you've had your share of pancakes. I took this from Sans'. So, this one is for Sans. Undyne, you have the other blue cup, and Papyrus you have the orange one. Okay?" They grumble, but accept it, and Sans walks through a gap between them and claims his prize from out of nowhere. Undyne and Papyrus continue to watch you make and flip pancakes, asking you to teach them sometime. Then, they start telling you about several experiences with cooking, and then finally ending it with Frisk burning down Undynes house. You mentally remind yourself to never let that child in any kitchen, along with Papyrus or Undyne. Infact, maybe you should just ban the kitchen from being a place for anyone. Soon enough, everyone is out of pancake batter, and your arms hurt. Your cup, however, is still filled. Undyne gets a notification on her phone from her work, and bids you farewell. Looks like someone fixed the door as she walks out of it, and then, a few seconds after she's exited, it falls off the hinges and falls to the floor with a bang. You sigh, and remember to fix it after eating. You only make about 3/4 pancakes for yourself, which is plenty enough, and cote them with only a little bit of sugar. Its not that you didn't like sweet things, just that you didn't have much sugar, and would like to save as much as possible after having everyone else empty about half the bag already.

 

After eating, you leave your plate stacked with everyone else's on the side, putting away the ingredients soon after, before turning your head to look outside at the balcony. The sky has turned a crimson red, with streaks of pink clouds and brilliant oranges creating a scene from where you stand. A peaceful moment in between all the ruckus of life. From all the way up here, you can't hear the sirens and alarms from below yo notice, opening the door, standing on the bare concrete. From here, you can't hear anything, its like its all empty. From here, you look down, and see an empty alleyway. Wind blows through your black hair, and your cat ears twitch slightly as you close your eyes and breath in. You stand on your tip-toes, and spread your arms out wide to take in the wind, and smile. It's nice to feel the wind wrap around you, and you just take in the silence

 

. The silence is broken, by an angry skeleton. You turn around quickly, surprised as a blue aura envelopes you. "_______! What are you doing?!" Oh hell, he is PISSED. He flicks his wrist, and you go flying back inside, not stopping until your back collides with the sofa, and it goes reading back. You end up with the sofa on the floor, and you sprawled over it, reeling from the pain. "WHAT THE HELL SANS?!" You yell, as he walks into the room, one eye empty, the other a blazing blue. The blue aura dissipates, and you scramble to stand. "WHAT WERE YOU DOING OUT THERE?! I THOUGHT YOU WOULDN'T TRY TO DO THAT!" Your still confused, you were just taking a breather, why is he so pissed?! "I WAS HAVING A BREATHER! WHY DID YOU THROW ME BACK INSIDE?! THAT HURT!" You yell, at the same volume as him, his eyes' flame gets larger, and you take a step back, as he starts yelling back at you, pointing.

 

"MORE LIKE TAKING A BREATH OF DEATH! DO I HAVE TO BABYSIT YOU TO STOP YOU FROM KILLING YOURSELF?" He screams, and it connects, from what he could see, it probably looked like you were ready to take a swan dive off the building. He...does not trust you at all, does he? "I WASN'T! I WAS TAKING IN THE ATMOSPHERE! AND NO - YOU DON'T HAVE TO BABYSIT ME, YOU'VE NEVER HAD TO! SERIOUSLY, DO YOU NOT TRUST ME AT ALL?!"

 

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WHEN ALL YOU'VE DONE IS MAKE TROUBLE SINCE YOU GOT HERE?! YOU'RE SOME SORT OF WEIRD MUTANT! YOU ARE PUTTING ALL OF US AT RISK! I CANT TRUST YOU! NOT ONE BIT!" The words sting slightly, and your expression turns sour, and angry. You're angry. You thought you were kind of getting along with Sans, and that maybe he saw you as a person or even a friend. But no, apparently all you are is someone he has to babysit for the sake of his friends. Makes you wonder what really changed since the beginning. "WELL I'M SORRY, OKAY?!" You don't know what else to say. You couldn't really control what happened around you, you weren't some social genius, you couldn't make everyone like you, and you couldn't be perfect. "SORRY ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH! THINK ABOUT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO OTHER PEOPLE WHEN YOU GO AND DO STUPID STUFF!"

 

"I'M TRYING, OKAY? IM TRYING, SANS! I'M GOING TO GO LOOKING FOR A JOB, AND I'M GOING TO GET MY OWN PLACE. SO I'M SORRY FOR BEING AN INCONVENIENCE TO YOU ALL! BUT I WON;T BE ANYMORE, I'LL JUST LEAVE. NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO BABYSIT ME!" You grab your bag and swing it over your shoulders, and turn to Sans, hurt and cold. "You know what?! I'll just leave. You won't have to bother with me anymore." With that, you walk out of the doorway, which is still doorless, and get in the elevator.

 

You didn't see Papyrus peeking out of the doorframe of his room after you both started yelling.

You didn't see Sans turn around and walk to the balcony, ashamed and upset.

You didn't know what they had seen. You didn't really know them.

Not really.


	12. Cold drinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO AGAIN! Yes, 2 CHAPTERS IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS ITS MAGIC TRUELY! This is shorter than usual, as it is like 3am right now, Im tired, and this chapter was not even going to happen until 3Oh!3 turned up on my playlist, and I decided to go with it. So, now we got this. 
> 
> Also, can I just take a moment to say that now Im used to using you and your when writing, instead of I and me; and I had an english assessment the other day. I think I spent more time reading through and correcting that, than I did actually writing. So, I guess, thanks for that, that was quite a funny experience if not slightly distressing.

Fishing your hat out of your bag, you angrily throw it on, and exit the run down apartment building. Fuck Sans. You don't need him babying you anyways! You walk about, backpack over your shoulder, and soon enough you've found yourself in a way more populated area, sirens blaring, lots of talking, and music from everywhere. Nightclubs, 7/11s and pubs line the road, and the sky has turned into a quite cloudy black abyss, with the bright lights creating a barrier, trappign any stars and hiding them from vision from where you stand on the sidewalk, people intwined around you, walking to their destination. 

You grab some money from your bag, and then walk into a random building. There isn't even a bouncer, and music penetrates your mind, bodies colliding into everyone, and you look around for the bar. You feel less than adequately dressed to be in here, in a purple hoodie and leggings, with pretty bare boots covered in small scuffs at the bases. Regardless, you head to the bar, and sit down at a bar stool. The bartender looks at you pityingly, and you cast your eyes down, folding your arms and leaning on the bar. "What can I get you?" They say, rather friendly. It's a guy, and you ask for whatever the hell is the strongest. Suicidal it may be, but apparently, being suicidal is all you can be. So fuck it. You grab some money out of your bag, and place it in your lap. Can't have anyone taking your shit. 

The bartender returns with a large glass, and you pay them, thanking them. You down it quickly, and ask for another. You take a break occasionally, to watch people dance and lose yourself int he brightness of the nightclub. Unfamiliar faces and figures dancing and snaking around you like vipers, ready to shoot at any moment. Your vision becomes a little bit blurrier, but you don't really notice as you continue to drink. You start to slow down on how quickly you drink. "_____, what are you doing here?" You turn to a familiar voice, and Alex slips onto a seat next to you. Oh great. Time to give the only person who didnt seem dissapointed by you dissapointment. MORE dissapointment, actually, after the parents dumping you and all. 

"I...got kickedoutt..." Your words dont come out as you want them to, and you seem slightly confused. How long has it been since you've been able to see completely straight? You turn to Alex, and notice he's upset, and decide to ask him whats wrong. "Whats up?" You ask, sluggishly and now realising you are NOT as sober as you once were, but don't really care. "My girlfriend..." He pauses for a second, putting one hand on his face, exhaling. "She...she loves someone else. I came here, its a normal place for me when I get upset..." He drinks often? The bartender approaches you both again, and you quickly finish off the dirnk and pass it back to them. They look at Alex and you witheringly, before turning more to Alex. "You want the regular coke and vodka?" They smile at him, and he nods.

"Iiiiiii didn't knowyou drank-k..." K is kinda funny to say. Kaaay. KAAAAAYY. Keeeey? Kaaaaay! KaaayKaaaay. Alex shrugs, and takes the drink as the bartender offers. He downs it quickly, and the bartender doesnt even ask him as he goes off to get another. "An' I didn't know you were into monsters. Seriously, is that Sans guy your boyfriend? He seems like a prick to me." Either alchohol gets to him fast, or he really doesnt like monsters. He takes another drink, and then continues talking. The bartender goes and gets you the same as he has, and you begin to converse. "I - monsters, kay, so like - they're usually good dudes. And then, SANS, he comes up to me in the street - and he's all like 'don't go near you' like you two have to be dating right? He told me if I didnt stay away - he's kill me. KILL ME!" He slams his glass down. "An now, heere we are, together, drinking, and he's nowhere! Lousy jerk." He did...he did what? No. No he fucking did not. 

"Al-aa-aalex...alexbabe...I fucking HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATEEE Sans, kaayyyy?" You put your arm on his shoulder reassuringly, and he takes another sip of his drink. "Like..dude fuckin' thinks Im suuiiicidalorsomeee bulllllllshittt...Idunno, he's a JERK." Your slurring a lot more now, very angry, with a heated face, and all you really can do is keep speaking. "Liiikeee, he DRINKS KETCHUUUPPPAND...Like.. HES A LOSEEEERRR! I haateee him so much...and all he does...all he EVER FUCKING DOES!" You yell the last part a bit louder than you should, but doncare. "IS UPSET ME! Like...Like Icantry..I caaann tryyyy all I wantt, but - NO." You slam your hands down on the side, angry. 

"Nooott good enough. You know? Ifucking...Ihatehim..." It takes you a moment to realise your crying, and then Alex has his arm round you, with his stool closer to yours. He hangs his arms over you protectively, and you lean into him. "I just...Itry..." You sob into him, and he pats your back. 

"Im sorry..." He says, as you cry into him, a drunk and emotional wreck. You hug him back best you can, and then your both crying, because your both wrecks, and loveless, and terrible, and the world is so shit and you dont want to be in this god damn bar anymore. The bartender leaves you two alone, and you stay there for a moment longer, recovering, before you feel Alex pull away. You want to pull him back, and tell him not to leave again, to stay and not leave like he did 5 years ago, and theres sadness in his eyes. And your eyes too. 

"Look...You wanna go back to my place? You can crash on my couch if you have nowhere to sleep." Alex offers, and you gladly accept. He pays off the final drink you had, and you cant really stop him, as he picks up your bag and pulls it out of your reach. You try to get it, and then just fall into him, and he has to support you as you walk. You feel like a pathetic child as you walk out of the bar, and he calls a taxi. You stand a bit further away from the main crowds, and its quieter now. "Y'know, I wish you didn't leave all those years ago." Alex says, as you hang onto him for support. You nuzzle your face closer into him, feeling his warmth. Its comforting, and something you've never had before. You like it. He doesnt seem to feel uncomfortable at all, as he keeps speaking. 

"Like, your a great person, I just hate that my parents didnt get that." He wraps an arm around your waist protectively, and you start to realise how cold it is outside. He's very warm though, and it makes you smile. "Eh, fuuckkthem..." You whisper, still slurring pretty badly. You stand there in silence until the taxi arrives, and you have to get off of him. You dont want to, but do reluctantly, and flop down in the chair. Your tired, and the lights are blurring together and making a mixture of colours that burn brightly into your vision, painfully almost. Disorientating worlds mix in your mind as the car rides down the streets filled with other drunkards and more bright neon lights. You dont even notice your back draped all over Alex, whos holding you in his arms pretty comfortably. "Your sucha nicee guy...most people'dthrow me off em ortouchme or somet..." You remember blurred memories of highschool, the first time you ever got drunk, forcibly, with your only ever boyfriend. Who, was enamoured with you. He....he is crazy. 

Eventually, you pull up to a pretty nice apartment building. This time, without saying anything, he pulls you onto his back, and you instincitvely throw your arms around him, as he hoists you up. He piggybacks you into the apartment building, and enters the elevator. "Am I noootheavy?" You ask, whispering close to his ear, giggling. He laughs back. 

"'Course not! I'm a manly man afterall." He jokes, and you cling tighter to him, as the elevator climbs the floors. The slight movement and shaking makes you giggle more, and your warm and tired. You exit, and he fumbles in his pockets for a moment, looking for his keys. He can't hold you right, so you step down and settle for leaning on his shoulder, wobbly legged and bleary eyed. Soon enough, you both stumble in, you significantly more drunk than him but him still drunk enough to not really see right and wrong, and you collapse on the couch together, tired from doing nothing. The door swings shut and locks on its own, and you lay, half sprawled over Alex on the sofa, tired. His arms are around you, and your on are wrapped around his torso, head on his chest. It's comfortable, and soon you find yourself falling asleep, and the warmth moving from beneath you. Something warm on your cheek followed by something cold, and muffled words you can't hear. You fall asleep as a blanket is thrown over you, before he himself stumbles to bed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you follow Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HA, IM NOT DEAD! Yeap. Just, take this. I'll have a proper chapter up later, but for now, I thought we should have a look at what Sans is dealing with right now. Have fun, and thanks for reading up to this point!

"Torieeeellllll..." At a time way too late for Papyrus to be awake, but not too early that I can't drink, I decide to call the only person I know for helpful advice. The one and only, ex-queen of the underground. "Tooorieeellll..." I repeat, slurring, laid outside with the cold wind going right through me. Heh. Guess I could say it was...chilling me to the bone. 

The phone is laid next to my skull as I lay, looking at the skies, with an empty bottle in my left hand. The stars look so...pretty. "Sans, may I please ask why you are calling at such an hour?" Toriels voice comes from the other end, clearly concerned. "Have you been drinking?" She asks, and I just mumble something along the lines of maybe, who cares, but it comes out more as word vomit than anything else. 

Tibia-nest, I've been laid here for quite a bit. "I messed up withe humaann Torielll..." I moan, clearly not in a right state of mind. Everythins slightly fuzzy, so much so I can't even feel the dents in my bones as much as usual. I hear her sigh from the other end, but I bumble on anyways. "I meaann, she wass juss' like...outhereee-" I throw my arms up and down as if to indicate to my location, even though she cant see me. "And...she looked liiike she wasssgonna jump...y'know she tried that once? Yeah? I almos' dinn catch her...I hate her anyywaayys...or lest she thinks I doeses..." Is doeses a word? Sure, does-es is a word now. 

"Likeee, she screamed at me n' stuff..." I grumble, staring up at the skies. All while I talk, she listens, and then, knowing I've finished, speaks up. "I'll be over soon. However, you now have to babysit Frisk next Thursday. It'll be difficult convincing someone to come over at this time." The phone call ends, and I lay there still for a few moments. From here, I wish I could hear the rushing of cars, the woops and cheers of human kind as they all have fun. But these streets are desolate, and empty - the only life here is rats and dead dreams. The place where hope comes to die. 

"I messed up bad..." Tears roll of my skull before I can even stop them, and fall to either side of my face. It makes my skull colder, and damper. I brush them away quickly, going back to staring solemnly at the night sky, littered with stars. The stars are so pretty. It's funny...the sky reminds me of you. Not cause of the stars, hell no - your soul was darker than anything anyone had ever seen. Crazily. "What the hell kinda soul IS a black soul?" I think out loud, throwing my arms up. "Like, WHITE I get, thats a soul without a real trait or anything crazy, but BLACK - Black and...scarred...and on fire. How does a soul even get so cracked the inner casing is shown on the OUTSIDE as FIRE?!" I scream, knowing nobody can hear me as I talk practical nonsense. "Man...how that FREAKS alive I have NO IDEA." My arms flop back down to each side of me. 

"SANS YOU BETTER HAVE NOT CALLED THE HUMAN A FREAK JUST NOW! ARGH, YOU IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!" The voice causes me to shoot up and look around. "Undyne...?" I ask, and then, the double doors go flying open, almost whacking me in the legs. I scramble back, unable to move effectively due to my drunken state. Whyyy did I think it was a good idea to drink? She easily picks me up by my shirt, and holds me over the 'railings.' "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE HUMAN SANS?! I'VE BEEN CALLING ALL NIGHT! I GET IN HERE, YOUR DRUNK, ONLY HER PHONES HERE BECAUSE HER BAG IS GONE, AND PAPYRUS IS CRYING! YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!" She screams, and I look at her dumbfounded. 

"Papyrus is...crying?" I ask, guilt washing over me. Oh shit. That thought alone sobers me up quickly. "YEAH, CRYING AT THE FACT THAT YOU MADE THE HUMAN LEAVE! YOU WOKE HIM UP YELLING! NOW HES MORE UPSET YOU JERK!" I try to wrestle free of her grasp, quickly getting annoyed. She has me in an iron fist, and does NOT intend to let me go easily. I'm dangling over the edge helpless anyway. Theres no real point in struggling. I made Papyrus cry. Fucking idiot Sans. 

"Undyne...I'm..sorry..." I say, struggling to find words. She looks pissed. More pissed than she was with Frisk before trying to kill the kid, there's no smile or facade behind this. "I just - Im sorry..." I don't know what else to say. The bottle in my left arm falls out of my boney grip, plummeting to the ground, shattering onto the cold concrete floor.

"Oh hell no if you think I'm taking SORRY as an ANSWER!" She whips around, still holding me, and charges into the kitchen, throwing me onto the table, not even the bar stool. I feel my bones shake as I collide with the wall, a dull pain aching through me. "Are you tryin' to kill me?" I ask, and she just snarls, "You have 5HP. You'd be fine." 

True, ever since Frisk lost the ability to reset my HP points have been...slowly, regenerating. But then I met the freak, and its been at 5 ever since. 

"Look. Undyne." She glares, and sits down on the barstool, half melted and all, and then looks up at you. "What did you do. To the human." She asks, simply. Cold. Wow, she really cared for this person didn't she? Foolish, really. "She looked like she was about to take a swandive off the balcony! What was I supposed to do?!" I ask, angry. If I knew she really wasn't trying to kill herself like the time she went off on that little 'walk' of hers, then maybe I wouldn't have over-reacted. "You coulda asked what she was doing instead of going loco at her and yelling!" She says indignantly. 

"Well how am I supposed to trust her when I almost watched her plummit to her death like an IDIOT once before?!" I ask, throwing my arms up. Undyne seems to be confused, obviously not knowing what the hell Im referring to. "Sans, obviously your delusional. How much did you DRINK?!" I shrug lazily. 

"No, Im serious! She took a leap of faith into the underground when she went on a little 'walk' of hers." I insist, and she narrows her eyes. "Oh, but apparently that was probably MY FAULT TOO! Man, aren't I just the worst...." Undyne mutters something, still with narrowed eyes. 

"You. Find her. And bring her back. Right now." Undyne speaks in a cool voice, and looks straight in my eyes. I feel a numbing coldness creep across me in that stare. "NOW GO." She shoves me, and I blip away in a gulf of blue light. 

And land uncerimonously in a trash can, in an alleyway next to a night club that is littered with smashed, icky booze bottles and fast food reminants. Being drunk and teleporting, not a good mix. Quickly, I jump out of the trash can, and make my way inside. Its crowded with people, its noisy as fuck, and a few people spit or just tut at the fact that a skeleton is in a 'human' bar. I'm almost at the bar when I spot a familiar hat, but my attention is diverted by someone gripping my shoulder, forcing me to turn around. 

It's a human girl, she grabs my hand, and storms past the bar and into a slightly less crowded area. Then she spins around to face me. Anxiety is scrawled across her composure and attitude. "H-hey, y'know this is a human bar right?" She keeps looking at the bar. Why..? "Are you listening to m-me, skele-b-b..." Pause. "Skeleton...man." Shes really struggling here, isn't she? "Look, can you do me a favour?" She asks, and I'm getting real confused here. She steps closer slightly, as if to stop anyone else from hearing.

"Go home. Please. Otherwise...you're going to get hurt. Please." She seems pleading, and I can feel something within her soul that almost makes me want to do as she says. Kindness. She backs away, nervous. "I don't want to hurt monsters. But...just please leave!" She yells the last bit, and runs off, and I watch as she weaves her way back into the crowd. I turn around to look back at the bar, but shes gone. 

Running into the bathrooms, I teleport out of the nightclub hoping nobody saw me, and look around. "Like, your a great person, I just hate that my parents didn't get that." A voice from a bit off can be heard, and I start towards it, walking at a normal pace as to try to blend in, after pulling up my hoodie so nobody can tell I'm not...human. 

I reach a quieter area, as a taxi pulls up to the kerb on the other side of the road. Into it, two people get, and I notice that its her, and a boy I've never seen before. Catgirl. Ahhhhh FUCK.

It speeds off, and I have to quickly teleport from roof to roof to keep up with it, eventually it stops, and catgirl and the boy climb out, and go into an apartment building. Just then, my phone starts blaring, and I answer it quickly. "Whats up?"

"Sans, did you find her?" It's Undyne. I look to the apartment building, as I see the automatic doors sliding closed. 

"Yeah, I did, and she's with some guy. They're going back to his apartment...I feel like this is a bad time to interrupt. Look, I'll get her in the morning, alright? Let her...cool down a bit first."

"Fine. Get back here, we've got a lot to talk about." She ends the phone call, and I sigh, looking up at the night sky. It's...beautiful. The stars shine so brightly, and I can't help but smile as I look at them.


	14. Sick human.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which your brother is weird, you meet new people, Sans pops up twice, and Papyrus cries a little more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'll keep this short, I just wanted to say, thank you for 75 kudoses (kudi? I dont know) and over 850 reads! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'm incredibly sorry for the infrequent updates. Okay, bye for now!

Surprisingly enough, you didn't wake up with a pounding headache, like every book you've read with drunk people in seemt to elude to. You were actually alright, as if you hadn't been drunk in the first place. As if it hadn't even happened. You peel the cover off of yourself, shivering slightly as the coldness of the apartment hits you. Both your tail and ears twitch in surprise of the temperature, and you tug on your hat to bring it down further on your head. 

Its a pretty modernised place, with an open kitchen to the left of you. You get up, and peek into a room with the door left slightly ajar. Alex is asleep on his bed, snoring quietly. Deciding not to wake him, you raid through his fridge for anything you could make for a breakfast. Nothing. Okay then, bread bin? 

Nothing. 

Okay, strange. This place is practically good as new. Maybe its because he had moved in with his girlfriend or something, and this was a place he had beforehand? You shrug mentally, and close the bread bin. Turning around, you see him sitting at the breakfast table, holding his head in one of his hands. You jump slightly, hissing. He laughs, and then immediately regrets it. "Eugh...do we have coffee?" He asks, having a terrible time. 

"You tell me. You don't seem to have ANYTHING." You say, looking around. He makes a grumbling sound, before looking up at you. "I forgot that I cleared out all the cupboards..." He grumbles some more, and you go and check your bag. Looking around, you find a crumpled up £20 note, and brandish it in your hand, turning to him. 

"Wanna order a pizza and watch some movies then? I'm paying." You offer, and he just nods, and dully gets up, and walks into his room. You fish around the mostly empty drawers, until you find a load of receipts, which you pay no mind to, and finally some takeaway leaflets. You quickly fish through them, looking at various pizza places from "Pizza Express" to "Dominoes." Eventually, you just go with one, and then place the leaflet on the side while you route through your bag. 

Only to descover it isn't there.

"Oh fuck..." You whisper, mentally slapping yourself. You left your phone at the apartment with Sans and Papyrus. Great. Holding 2 neatly folded blankets, Alex walks back into the room, and sees you with your hand on your forehead, looking like an idiot. "Whats up?" He asks, concerned. 

"I forgot my phone at the skeledicks place. I'll have to go get it later..." He laughs a bit, and you look at him confusedly. He smiles. "I thought skeletons didn't have dicks?" He asks, and you just shrug. 

"Who knows." You say, zipping up your bag, and tossing it on the floor next to the sofa from the other side of the counter. You grab the leaflet again, and show it to Alex. "You have a cellphone right? Mind if I borrow it?" You ask, and he shrugs.

"Nah, I broke it. Looks like we'll have to go out for breakfast." He says, looking down at the bundles of cloth he's currently holding. "Give me a moment to put these back." He walks off, and you pop the pizza leaflet back into its drawer, and walk into the living room, looking at a mirror positioned next to the front door. Weird place to put a mirror, but oh well. Your hair is messy and tangled, and you scowl for a moment. 

You spy a hair brush over by the side, and grab it, wandering back over to the mirror, and rake through your hair quickly and efficiently before putting it back where you found it, making a mental note to apologise for not having your own on a later date. 

Suddenly, there's a knock at the door, and you walk over to open it. "Coming." You say, sighing, and pulling your cap down a little bit more. Swinging it open, you see nobody. Oh great. 

Looking down a little more, there's a skeleton, looking away. 

SLAM.

"Who was that?" Alex asks, walking back in, and grabbing your bag. He seems midly concerned. "I heard the door slam." He says, and you shrug. Why the hell is he here? "Oh, a skeledick. He'll clear off in a few minutes, all we have to do is wait." You say, hoping. Alex just nods in understanding, and wanders off. 

"I have to do my hair anyway, gotta look perfect." You snicker slightly, and another knock at the door catches your attention.

And another.

 

And another.

 

GOD DOES HE EVER STOP?!

After about another three knocks, you hastily throw the door open. "Can you just go away?!" You snap, and he takes a small step back, but still smiles at you. "Wow, bit snappy today. I was just going to return this, Undyne's been killing me about it." He says, before silently taking your hand and tentaviely pressing the phone into it. "I won't bug you anymore. Sorry. For...everything." He throws his hooide up, and walks away, and your left holding the phone as he saunters down the hallway, and gets into the elevator. 

"He gone?" Alex has re-appeared, and wraps his arms around you, his face against your neck. "Yeah, he's gone. Mind..." You gesture, and he quickly unwraps himself from you, and looks embarrassed. You don't quite know how to respond, that was...weird. "Oh, yeah...sorry." He looks away, and then you walk out of the door, he follows. "So, where we going?" You ask, pressing the button for the elevator. Alex perks up. 

"Oh, its a place on the corner. My friends run the place, Ghost and his girlfriend Katelynn. But just call her Kate." He says, stepping inside the elevator. Politely, you smile and ask him about them, and he says that they've been sweethearts ever since they were in secondary school, and that Ghost was planning on marrying her near the end of the year. Or atleast, asking her to. You two casually make your way down to the coffee shop, which is a quiant little place decorated with dark brown and beige colours. It's rather warm and cozy inside, with booths to the left and tables for 4 dotted around, a large barista bar for you to order drinks at the back of the store, easily accessible past the tables, neatly arranged. There are large black chalkboard menus hanging over the bar, and a girl with light brown hair, neatly tied in a bun and wearing a red barista uniform behind the bar that smiles at the two of you as you approach her. 

"Hey Kate!" Alex waves at the girl, and she waves back, as you finally arrive at the large wooden countertop. "Hey Alex, what can I get you?" She pauses, and looks you over quickly. "My my, you didn't tell me you got a new girlfriend, whats your name?" She asks, smirking. The large man next to you rolls your eyes, and you snicker. "We're not dating, I'm kinda like his sister. My names ______." You state, and then smile, relaxing as she grins. "But I'll just have a normal coffee." You say, and she nods, looking as determined as she can in the morning light. 

"One 'normal coffee' up! And Alex, hurry your lazy butt up and decide what to drink. _______, my boy Ghost is in one of the booths, go sit with him, he'll treat you good." She winks, and then sets off to go and make the drinks. Alex quickly scans the boards, and hastily shouts out to Kate after shes disappeared, that he wants a coffee with no milk. She yells back something along the lines of got it, and then Alex directs you over to a booth, with who you presume to be Ghost sat down. Instantly you understand why he's called Ghost.

He has white hair, so white that its almost blinding, a relaxed grin on his face, and a peculiar white hoodie with black lines that roll down the arms and the pockets, thats open. The t-shirt he wears beneath is pure black, and you can't see his trousers from where you are. You all sit down, you on the end, and Ghost and Alex begin to chat idly about events. You zone out, as the smell of coffee hits you, along with...bacon? 

"hey guys, I got breakfast!" Katelynn appears, holding a large tray. She swiftly puts it on the table, and then plonks herself down next to the white haired boy, who links their arms together quickly. "We have bacon, french and normal toast, sauce, nutella, jam, marmalade, and butter all in these helpful little packets. So eat up team! Also, Jake'll be out in 10, he's still half asleep." She quickly creates a bacon sandwich for herself and wolfs it down before eating another, and you make one for yourself, letting your sharpened teeth sink into and rip the meat apart, devouring it very quickly. You take a sip of your coffee, and a wave of nostalgia hits you as you look down at your plate. You smile to yourself, and then the thought quickly turns sour. 

Your first day here, when you found Undyne's cafe (Which, you now remember, was named A Bratty Katty Cafe now you think about it, which doesn't sound very Undyney) you had a bacon sandwich and a coffee. You don't want to think about those guys right now. 

"Hey, ______, your looking a bit saucey." You look at Katelynn confused, who taps her cheek. "You got sauce on your cheek." She snickers slightly, and you wipe it off, looking away. Welp, well done. You made yourself look like an idiot. "Babe you still got some on your lip. Your so messy..." Alex points out, wiping it away before you can react. He's too close to your face, and you quickly squirm away. You don't even register what he said for about 10 seconds afterwards, trying hard to not die of cringe. Realising he calle you babe makes it worse, and glancing over at him, he looks ready to inwardly collapse himself. He must still be used to hanging around his girlfriend, huh?

"I, uh, sorry." He whispers, as he takes another piece of toast from the tray and spreads nutella over it, before biting into it, and savouring the taste. Everyone talks for a bit, and another guy (named Jake) comes out of the back and joins everyone, sitting across from you still tired. You polish off the coffee, and gradually each individual finishes their food until everything on the tray has diminished down to nothing, and all that remains are empty pots with reminants of jam, nutella, butter and sauce, and crumbs. 

The rest of the day pases pretty uneventufully, with you and your brother going back and spending a lazy day on the couch, watching various movies. Alex made sure to keep all the mettaton ones far away though, but it didn't matter because you had already watched them. It was now late, and the skies were black and littered once again with strings of stars. Some time ago, the boy across from you under the blue blanket fell asleep, leaving you to keep yourself company with some now cold pizza and cola bottles. That's when you hear it. 

A phone ringing. Getting up, you scurry to it, and quickly glance over to Alex, making sure that it didn't wake him up, before answering the call, and walking briskly into his room, shutting the door. You note itd quite messy, but dont get too mcuh time to look around when screaming can be heard from the other line. "WHAT DO WE DO?! WHAT DO WE DO?! SANS! UNDYNE! THE HUMAN IS DYING! DYIIIING! TORIELS BUSY WHAT DO WE DOOO?!!!" Papyrus and unholy screaming can be heard down the line. 

"Papyrus, whats wrong?" You ask, and he screams at the sound of it, a happy scream. You feel bad for everyone else. "KITTY LADY! KITTY YOU HAVE TO HELP THE HUMAN! THEY'RE DYING! PLEASE!" He pleads, and you sigh, and look outside. "Can't Toriel come over?" You sigh, looking out at the stars. They're pretty. 

"She's busy with important queen duties! Please ________! PLEASE!" He begs, sobbing. You sigh again, and smile down the phone. He's such a kid.... "I'll be there soon. Think you can handle 10 minutes making sure 'the human' doesn't die?" You ask, and he yells yipee, and a smashing sound can be heard. Did he just smash his phone? Or a vase..? "Yes kitty lady! Oh please come quickly!" 

"I'm on my way." With that, you exit the call, and flip the phone back down, glaring at the phone. Why did Sans have to give you this damned thing? Now you have to see them all again. Talk about making it difficult... You walk back into the living room, and shake Alex gently. He begisn to stur. "Alex." You whisper. "Alex, I have to go out. Emergency." You whisper, and he sleepily pulls your arm. 

"Get someone else to go..." He mumbles, pulling your arm close and hugging it. You try to pull away. "Alex, I have to go." You say, a bit louder, and then yank your arm free. "No you don't." He's a bit louder now too, but still very sleepy. Maybe he thinks your his girlfriend still? Oh he's hopeless. "I'll see you later Alex." You say, quickly walking away. You reach the door, and open it. As you do, he pulls himself around you, and puts his face in his neck. "Staay..." He whispers, and something slimey can be felt on your neck. He's kissing your neck. It sends chills down your back, and you wrestle out of his grip, and slap him. "ALEX ITS ME! What the fuck?! Look, I'm going out, I'll be back later. Go back to sleep, and don't even fucking do that ever again. Bye." He seems to wake up then. 

"Ah! Wait! ______! I'm sorry I just-" Your already in the elevator when he starts speaking, and you try to scrub off his saliva from your neck as it slowly descends, getting it on your jumper. You shiver at the thought of him...eugh... That was way too close. 

 

You had sworn off relationships, infact you were practically running from one right now weren't you? A mental guy, on the loose, from an asylum - how the hell does a patient get out of an insane asylum anyways?! You shiver again, and then have to hide the saliva now on your sleeve, looking at it in disgust. No wonder his girlfriend left him if he's that over protective... 

You walk for a few blocks, before realizing - you are ENTIRELY lost. You got in a taxi here. How the hell are you supposed to be able to tell where you go? Oh great. Lovely. You walk down a back alleyway. Maybe if you find a ledge you can get up onto, you can get onto a roof. You were pretty good at roof jumping and the like, if your first days here jumping around the more rural, monster inhabited areas of the city, have taught you anything. "Figured you might not know your way around the place." An all too familiar voice looms from behind. You turn around, already angry enough. He isn't smiling though, he actually looks kind of sorry today. "It's fine if you don't want a teleport, I can tell you the directions.." He looks away, up at the stars, and you just stare at him. He isn't cocky, he isn't smiling, he's...lost. 

Not lost in the sense that you are, but lost in...himself? "The stars are pretty aren't they?" Then a small smile emerges on his skull, and you stay silent, still quite angry at his appearance. He looks down, still smiling, and kicks the ground with one of is slippers. "Well, I'll take your silence as a warning. If you look in your phone there's an app you can use that'll take you to where you need to go. It's a new app though, so it'll only get you out of areas you don't know, or route you from one place you know to another place you know if you set it. It'll eventually direct you to the road you ran off to after the argument. You can find your way from there, you're smart. I'll...see you later." He turns and starts to walk away.

That would take probably way too long, the elevator is most likely broken in the apartment building meaning you'd have to take the stairs again, and you've already been lost for about 15 minutes, any longer and Papyrus would probably be very upset, and happy that you weren't dead. ....And would ramble for 15 minutes about human safety. "Wait." You say, just before he dissapears, and he slowly turns around. "Look, as much as I dislike you - if I take that route Papyrus is going to get incredibly worried. So, if you don't mind...I'd like a teleport." You pause. "Please." You add on the end, for politeness sake. 

"Alright then." He walks up to you. "You should know the drill right?" He asks, extending a hand. You just nod, and take it. You both fall away in a flash of blue light, leaving the alleyway empty for a moment, until a figure emerges from the street. 

You appear outside the apartment - with a new door on hinges! - and fall into Sans, who just backs away, as you climb to your feet. You grumble. "Gets me everytime.." You say, picking up your hat that fell off, and holding it in your hands. No point in wearing it here. Your ears twitch slightly, freed from their entrapment. They'd been under there for...presumably days unless it fell off while you slept. Must've done...they don't ache. Strange.

Sans opens the door, and strolls in, yourself following in quick succession. "Got the uh 'kitty lady' bro." The smaller skeleton walks over to the door to Papyrus' room, and leans in the doorframe. Its then you notice that the door to the taller skeletons room is missing. Did they use his bedroom door as the main one...? "AAAHHHH KITTY LADY! KITTY LADY YOU MUST HELP FRISK!" Papyrus sweeps you up in his arms, and throws you into his room. You yelp in surprise, landing sitting up perfectly straight on his bed. Under the cover, is a small body. "Hey Frisk." You smile, and they smile back, with a thermometer in their mouth. You take it out and check the temperature. 

"You got a cold? You have a temperature, but there aren't any buckets around, so you've not been sick. Have you?" You ask, and they shake their head no. You smile and shake your head a little bit bitterly. "Really, all this fuss for a cold. Papyrus really loves you, doesn't he?" You laugh slightly, and Frisk nods eagerly. You look to Papyrus, who is holding his hands over his mouth, and...is that an orange tear drop? "Papyrus, Frisk is fine. They just need to stay in bed and rest for a few days. And they almost might sne-" Frisk sneezes as if right on cue, and you pass them a tissue, which they sue to wipe their nose, before holding it up to their face for a while. 

"...sneeze. With lots of hugs and cuddles, they'll be fine. Also maybe some cold medicine. NOT too much though. I'm sure Sans can get them one. Now, unfortunately I can't stay long. My brothers waiting for me at home." Hopefully not delusional and thinking your his girlfriend, but nevertheless. Papyrus sucks in a huge breath, but looks at Frisk and realises that they are ill, so he yell whispers. "You have a brother?!" Frisk looks equally confused, and you stand up, and nod. 

"Yeah, his name is Alex. He's not my real brother, but...he's practically the closest thing to family I ever had. I don't..." You look away. God, why does this feel like a terrible thing to admit that your an orphan to this skeleton man-child?! "....I don't have parents." You say, and Papyrus looks curious. 

"But all humans have parents, Frisk has Toriel and Asgore, they're their parents. Oh wait, your a kitty aren't you?" He asks, and you look back at him. Frisk isn't smiling anymore, they look concerned, but it doesn't matter. Its not like its that much of a sensitive topic - you'd just be a let down if you did have parents, right? "No, Papyrus. Some don't. They may have been made by two other humans doing...magic, but some of those humans don't want their kids. So instead, they leave them for other families who do want children. Couples like Undyne and Alphys, who if they were human, couldn't have children because of their genders." You explain, and you end up sitting back down on the bed, with Papyrus cross legged, urging you to explain more.

"Those children grow up with other children like them, in a place called an orphanage. And those children are called orphans. They have lots of nice people to look after them until a family comes along and asks if they want to be their child. Thats called adoption. So when a child gets adopted, they become a part of that family, and those humans become that childs parents." Somewhere in that short speech, Sans has passed the doorway, and Papyrus tells him to come inside to listen to the explanation. "Wowee! Sans, did you know _______ is from a place called an orphanage?!" He yells, sparkling eyes and the lots, and Sans actually looks a bit interested. 

"I didn't. Is she alright with telling you about being an orphan?" He asks, looking at you. You shrug, and he takes it as a yes. "Oh, I didn't ask! Kitty human, are you okay with explaining orphans to me?" He asks with those puppy eyes, so big you can't refuse. You nod. "Its fine, Paps." You say, and he does a yipee! in joy. Sans wanders back off, and you go back to explaining. "Some people don't get adopted though. Either because the families find other nice kids, or they don't want to be. Some can be adopted, but can go back to the orphanage sometimes. Eventually, they grow up, and when they turn 18, they can leave the orphanage if they want. Thats what I did."

"These children are adults now, but because they were never adopted into another family, they're still called orphans. So, in conclusion, I'm an orphan child, and I left the orphanage, and found you guys." You smile, and Papyrus jumps up and hugs you. "Papyrus...humans....can break..." You breath, having your lungs be rid of air from the hug. He pulls away, and then looks more intrigued. "Were you ever adopted and given back?" He asks, and you nod your head.

"Thats how I met Alex. My first-" and only "-family adopted me when I was a baby human. I lived with them until I was five, and Alex was my adopted brother. He's a year older than me." You explain, and he nods. 

"Well, you should go back to your brother now." He looks quite sad, and you can't help but smile at that. "Although human, if you were still a child human, we would've adopted you." He says, patting you on the head. You smile at him, he's so sweet, before standing up. "Thanks Papyrus." You head for the door, and Papyrus follows you. Frisk has fallen asleep, somewhere in that speech. 

"Wait, human before you go - when will you come back?" Papyrus asks, standing quite a long way away. You turn around, looking at him, you sigh. "I don't know Papyrus. Your great, it's just..." Your brother is kind of terrible, and I hate him? All he ever does is be a dick to me and I want to be able to just relax without thinking I'm going to be attacked by him? "I know you and my brother don't get along. I...understand if you don't want to be around us because of that." He says, playing with his hands. It breaks your heart to see him so upset. But you can't really say anything.

"I'm sorry Papyrus. But, I'll make sure to visit sometime." You say, and you walk over and hug him. You hear him sniffle. Is he crying? You pull away,a nd discover it is. Your heart gets twisted even more. "Oh Papyrus.." You mutter, wiping away his tears. "We're still friends! You don't need to cry!" You say, trying to make him happier. He wipes away the remainder of his orange tears. 

"I-I know, its just...I miss seeing you around human. I feel like I failed as a friend..." You pat his head, and hug him again, trying to re-assure him. He didn't do anything wrong, and yet he thinks he did. "You didn't do anything wrong Paps. You're the great Papyrus, remember? You're great!" You say, and he brightens slightly. 

"I-I suppose I am. Well...before you leave human would you mind sharing some food with me? Since you don't make the food anymore, I do it, and I'd love to show you how I've mastered making pancakes since you did the other day!" He perks up, and you can't refuse. So you both go into the kitchen, and notice Sans is on the balcony. Papyrus asks for Sans; approval, and he just nods idly, going back to staring at the skies. He's literally just laid on the floor. Not lazy at alll. 

Papyrus makes 2 pancakes, one for you and one for himself, sharing a cup. You notice there are now crude labels on each cup, every one labelled with 'pancake cup' and everyones names on them. There's glitter on Papyrus', and lots of stars on one for Frisk which is red, and a cruedly cut red heart thats been stuck back together after accidentally being cut in half, with sans theres just a Sans done in hand-written comic sans, and just crudely cut up pieces of blue paper stuck around it. For Undyne, there are two muscly arms either side her name, and there are huge spikes drawn all over the lettering. Even Alphys, Toriel and Mettaton have their own cups now. Did you create a new fad? 

Alphys has a yellow cup, with cut outs of lots of little nuts and bolts and anime disks (a whole pile of Kissy Cutie anime obstructing half of the A in Alphys) about the place, and then Toriel has a purple cup with butterscotch cinnamon pie drawn next to it, and a delta rune symbol. And a goat, with 'MOM' written in crude red on the side, with a cartoony arrow pointing to the goat. Goat mom. Nice. You both just stand in the kitchen, not wanting to sit on the side. 

"So you guys all decorated your own cups in a day of me being gone?" You ask, and Papyrus nods eagerly, as he presents a hot pancake on a plate with sugar on it.For a cat, you sure do have a sweet tooth... "Oh yes! Sans wanted to fix the door, and cheer me and Frisk up, so Undyne lead an art morning and part afternoon activity before her and Alphys had to go to work! They even brought a pinter and we got to cut things out!" He says happily, shaking a blue substance over his food. It dissapears, seemingly into nothing. Then, he cuts it up with two forks - you presume he isn't allowed knives, that or they don't have any - and begins to eat. You quickly finish, and wait or Papyrus to finish. He looks a bit downtrodden. "Well then, human, I suppose I should go and sleep now... Come back soon." You smile bittersweetly at him, looking down at the floor. He's such a child...its sweet. 

"You not going to see me out?" You ask, and he shakes his head, and looks away. He's so sad. "If I do I'll cry, so! Until next time human! The great Papyrus...is going to bed. Goodnight." He walks off, slumped over, and dissapears into his room. The lights go off in there, and you stand in the kitchen for a moment, sighing. You need some air, but you don't want to leave yet. You look out at the patio, and notice that Sans has gone. You quietly open the door, and step outside, losing yourself in the stars for a while. The sky isn't painted orange by streetlights here, so you can clearly see them all. You stand there for just a moment, taking in the tranquility. 

And, like everything else, the smaller skeleton seemingly comes along and ruins it. He doesn't say anything, but he just stands at the door, and looks up at the stars. You turn to him. "You like the stars?" You ask, and then feel like an idiot. Wouldn't any monster like the stars? All they had were glowing rocks, for years and years - so long no history book has any contents explaining monsters or even pointing out they ever existed. Of course every monster would like the stars. He nods. "Yeah, before the barrier fell I only saw them once." Wait...what? How old is Sans, to be able to have seen the stars..? "You saw them before the barrier fell?" He nods, but then shrugs.

"Yeah, but its...a long story. You should get going, it's late. Your phone'll have that apartment you were at logged into its places, so you should be able to set a route from here to there. Sorry, if I hadn't teleported to that place your phone would've told you how to get here from the start." He explains, and you just nod, and look down at your phone. His appearance, while agitating, is useful, since now you won't be lost for hours on end. You open your phone, and find the app, before routing up a way from here to the apartment. It's all the way on the other side of the city. Wow, talk about far.... You have all night though. It'll be fine. Hopefully Alex'll be awake when you get back, and non-delusional! 

"Thanks." You say, and walk past him. He goes back to looking at the stars, and you let yourself out. The elevator is broken, so you take the stairs. Great. Throwing on your trusty hat, you exit out into the cold chilly night, and look down at your phone. It's going to be a long night, lets hope your battery doesn't die.


	15. Tilted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING! I have had extreme writers block for this, but now Im back, this is my plan, and yeah. If you're still here and reading, thank-you because I am a mess. 
> 
> Also, this chapter feels just a bit familiar, right?   
> Wrong.

You fell asleep that night, on the couch, saying no words to your brother, who left a note. And the door unlocked, dangerously. You locked it, and then continued to throw yourself down on the sleek sofa. You thought about your soul. You don't know why, but you wanted to see it. And, well, you did. Maybe not physical, but you felt something. A resonating warmth within you, as you stared up at the ceiling. Dim lights in your eyes, and tiredness rocking you to sleep like a baby sang to sleep by its mother. 

Or at least, you thought that was what happened. 

 

The familiar smell of smoke filled your senses, along with the clanging of pots. Lazily, you rub your eyes, and throw yourself upright in your bed. Your bed. Looking around, you see an all too familiar room. The place you've been locked in all your life, and the place that you've grown to love. And hate. You feel around your bedside table in the dim morning light, and throw on your hat, right before... 

"C'mon! Rise and shine! Breakfast! _________, what have I told you about those late nights!" A small girl, the same age as you, brandishing a pan and a spoon, walking down the halls throws open your door. You growl slightly, as she continues her mini rant. "Whatever, look - breakfast. And there's a nice couple coming in today, so SMILE!" With that, she leaves the room, and you look down at yourself. In your pajamas; which consist of a random t-shirt filled with creases and wrinkles, and some leggings. Kicking your door closed aggressively, you lock it, and then proceed to quickly get changed into a school uniform surprisingly neatly folded up that was left on the end of your bed. Adjusting your clothes to fit around your tail, and then adjusting your hat so that it won't fall off later in the day, you walk down the spiral staircase at the end of the hallway. Wallpaper curls off the walls, and you can smell burning as you reach the bottom of the stairs. 

Sitting down at the large table in the dining room, you reach for some bread, before getting some bacon and butter. Quickly, you construct a sandwich, and then wolf it down, sharp teeth ripping apart the succulent meat. 

 

This seems wrong. Why does this feel wrong..?

Looking around, you see several children, most younger than you, one or two the same age, paying seemingly no attention to you, and you grab another slice of toast, before abruptly standing up, and walking out of the room. Slipping on your shoes and bag left in your mini locker by the door, you exit out into the crisp morning air. 

Nobody notices you've gone.

Walking down to the bus stop, you have to fumble around for your bus pass, and almost drop it in the process. You throw your arm forward to grasp it, and pain shoots across it. You draw it close to you. It felt like it had been torn into or something, what the hell?! You grumble, picking up the bus pass. You spend the rest of the walk wondering about your arm. Maybe you slept on it funny? No, you know that's not the case. This feels wrong.

This is wrong.

You board the bus, staring out at the bleak outside world. A random stranger sits next to you, and you pull your bag close to you in thought. It's gotten past the end of winter, the sky has already cleared and the snow is long gone. Rain still seeps its way into every corner of your existence though, somehow. Soon, you have exams which dictate what you do with life, where you go and who you follow. Who exactly you please will your expert skills in monotonous routines. 

Nothing feels right today, and you don't know why. Something's missing. 

 

Someones missing. But who..?

 

\----

"Isn't she nathans ex?" The incessant chatter of boys can be heard from a distance, as you lean against a wall. They pass, chattering about someone right in front of them. Invisibility is a superpower right? Guess this makes you a super hero. Though you only use it to listen in on people, really. So, I guess you're a supervillain? 

The bell sounds, and you sigh, throwing away a newly crushed milk carton. Yes - you buy milk. What else would you drink? Water? Bleh. You hate the taste of water. So plain. No, milk is much more your taste. Though thats probably due to some uh... you look up as if indicating to yourself the presence of two ears. Complications?

 

\--

The rest of the day goes off without a hitch, nothing. Which makes you think you're just batshit crazy. You board the bus and there are minimal whispers, nothing much about you existing. Then you blend into the background, and nobody remembers you're there at all. Huh. 

You get off the bus a stop away from where you usually would, walking past the supermarket. You should be going shopping on Thursday right...? What day is it today? It feels like.... August? You've definitely been through August right? But it can't be later than July right now. Maybe you're just having an off day. Tommorow'll be alright. 

But this doesn't feel like an off day. It feels like...you've already done this. Like there's somewhere you should be. You've done something wrong. Something you weren't meant to. You swing open the door to the orphanage, after unlocking it via your key. It squeaks painfully as you kick off your shoes, dislodge your bag from your shoulders, and open your locker. In there, is a... black envelope? You pick it up, and grab your bag, walking up to your room. You stare at it, and something feels off about this card. Is this what's been making you feel so off all day? 

Slumping down on your bed, after navigating a maze of clothes, you throw off your hat onto your side. It needs a wash now. Now, to see whats in this card.... 

Turning it over, there's a red heart with a crack in the side, and an X on it, keeping the card shut. Guess they couldn't be bothered to seal it closed the normal way? It clearly has a lick line, you notice as you open it. Pulling the card out, something falls from inbetween the pages, and you can just feel it. This card is important, and it's creepy as fuck. A thought strikes you, but you quickly throw it out of your mind. It can't be him. It can't be Nathan - because, well....he's gone. Not literally, but mentally. And quite physically. He's GONE. 

The card reads SURPISE! on the front, and there are two children holding balloons either side. Their eyes are done over with red pen, in large xs. This is too weird... You pick up whatever fell out. Are these, rose petals? No. Nope! NOPE! You throw it on the floor. It flutters to the ground harmlessly. You slowly open the card. Whatever was in the card as a message has been aggressively scribbled out in permanant marker, and there's an arrow. You have to read it out loud to take it in. "To ________. I'm coming for you kitty <3\. ~N." There's a P.S down the bottom too.

'P.S: I left you some presents on your phone. Also cute that you burnt the bear <3' You throw the card down on the floor. N. It IS him! How?! He's been in your room. Okay - not safe. Officially not safe. This place is not safe. You need to leave. You have very much decided you need to leave. Just what did he leave on your phone? You grab it out of your drawers, and turn it on. 

Everything seems fine. You dont really use your phone, its got some music on it on this little app called Tubidy, but apart from that just the basic, notes, messanger. A little screen appears on your phone. 'New Voicemail' and '17 Missed Calls from Unknown Number.' Yeap nope. Then you look at the background. 

 

Nathan was your boyfriend, and well, you didn't really have much of a choice in it to be honest. From the start, you kind of hated him, but he was good to you atleast. For a short while. Then, he started showing his true side, but strange thing is, nobody else noticed. Probably because nobody else saw, and if they did - they'd chalk it down to a petty argument. They were, mostly, until the night you visited his house. With a bit too much drink, and staying up a bit too late, he didn't propose anything sexual, but somehow, he had a saw. 

He tried to saw off one of your ears. Quite simply, he tried to saw ofone of your ears. And the next day, he demanded an apology for not letting him do it. Nathan is the only one who knows about them. But he isn't is he? No, you're sure nobody else knows. But then, your not. It doesn't matter anyways. He hurt you. Quite a bit. And tried to do things that you really didn't want to. You stand up, throwing your phone on the floor, and looking at your cat ears in the mirror. The scars still there. He didn't succeed with the saw - but he did start. It's all so blurry now, all that you can do is shudder in horror. It just got worse. You don't want to remember.

Besides - now is a bad time to dwell on the past. Right now, you need to leave, and quite badly. Let's see... you throw your money bank on the floor - g'bye piggy! - and take a short moment to revel in the satisfaction that is smashing open a piggy bank. You grab all the money - which you've saved up for three years for something to get you out of here, so atleast its being used now - and shove it in your front pocket. Atleast £50 in there, which'll be....alright. In truth, there's probably quite a bit more in there, but hey no time to count. You are WAYYY too frenzied to worry about how much money yo have. Throwing open a dresser, you notice you only have two pairs of clothes. FUCK IT, YOU ARE HALF CAT! DEAL WITH IT! 

You throw the clothes in the bag, and aggressively hat yourself, picking up other essentials like deoderant and a toothbrush - who keeps a toothbrush in their room? You. You do. Fuck keeping in the bathroom, that makes too much sense! - and well nothing else. Yeah, sure, this is a greeeaaaat plan! You're going to have soo much fun like this aren't you?! 

Oh can it! Wait, are you talking to yourself? Okay, creepy. You take a breath, and exit the room. Your ears twitch, and you pull your hat down slightly, making your way down the hallways, bag now firmly placed back on your back. 

You quickly realise, as you walk, that this plan is absurd. You arrive at the door, where there's a post it note. It's pink, and there's a little drawing of a cats paw, and an x. You angrily grab it, and tear it up. Fuck this, you're getting out of here. You grab an umbrella from the side, and throw open the door, exiting out into the afternoon. It's not quite dark yet; and you feel misplaced. Like this shouldn't be happening yet. Well, it shouldn't be happening at all, but just a little bit of you is saying it should be nighttime when you come outside. But thats rediculous. Why the fuck would you wait until it's dark?

You walk, not wanting to look suspicious, through the city streets. Deciding its better to blend into a crowd, you took the longer route to the bus station, where there are lots more people. Safety in numbers. But this means you can't look suspicious. Just a schoolgirl heading home after school. Sure. You turn the corner, and look around. There are few people, and you jog up to the station. Looking around, you see a notice board. You look down the stairs, and see a cafe. 

Maybe if you have time you'll stop there.

Looking at the bus readings, you notice they're all for the immediate areas, or just towns over. That's...practically useless. Then in the bottom, there's a small note. "Coaches that way" underneath is an arrow pointing away from the stairs downwards, which is right, and around the building to the left. You walk, and eventually come into a small car park. Apart from it isn't a car park, because the lines are too long. It has to be a coach park right? Looking around, there's a sign. You notice that there's three coaches right now, on the other side of the park. Three or four people stand around the board, and as you approach, they step back. 

The furthest route is Mt.Ebbot. Alright. It's £23 for a ride there and back, so like what, £11.50? Not that much. You stand beside the gorup of people, fishing out a £15 note form your bag as a coach turns into the area. It parks right infront of you, and quite a few people - 10-15 people roughly - get off. So does the bus driver, grumbling something about mutts and filthy animals, before a new bus driver gets on. 

"Anyone for Mt.Ebbot?" He asks, standing in the doorway. 

"Me."  
"Me." You and a girl about your age both put your hand up and say that you, indeed, want to go to Mt.Ebbot. She smiles at you, and the bus driver nods and gets in the compartment. The girl boards before you. You give him the £15 note, and he gives you £3.50 change. You realise the girls still standing in the rows, looking around. You just sit down, and then, a moment later, realise she has behind you. How do you realise? Well, because- "Hey, uh, do I know you?" ...She taps you on the shoulder, and you turn around. 

"Nope." You say simply, and she looks confused, mulling something over for a moment. "I coulda swar your name was _____ though. Maybe I'm getting them muddled up with who Alex was on about..." You blink. 

"No, that's...that's my name. Wait-" Her face becomes clearer in your mind, and for some reason, you realise you should know this person to some degree. "...Katelynn?" You ask, and her face lights up. "So we do know eachother! Where from though?" She tilts her head, and the bus brings itself to life. Here we go... "I don't know." You say simply. "Probably took a class together or something." You shrug. 

"Hmm...okay then." She seems cressfallen as you look out the window. You don't know how long passes, but enough now that the sky is becoming darker, and you can hear shallow breathing behind you. Turning around, you realise Katelynns asleep. Who sleeps on a bus? Even if it is a coach, its still reckless. You could steal her stuff and she'd be none the wiser. What an idiot. 

Looking for something to pass the time, you organise your bag. It's difficult to do with just 1 seat next to you, but you still manage to fold up all your clothes neatly, and put your money all together and tuck it into a pocket, while also counting it. In paper, £120. In change, an odd £34.50. Which means intotal, about £150. Not so bad, for three whole years. 

Then you realise some of your school stuff is still in here. Mostly pens and pencils, and a single stray textbook you never used for Algebra. All the pages are empty. You decide, taking up a pen, to doodle for a bit. You aren't...particualry good at drawing, but hey, you need something to keep you occupied, and all thats on the radio at this time is old timey elevator music, you notice as you take out the textbook, and slip all the clothes and other things back into the bag. 

You doodle for literal hours, until you come to the end of the textbook. Now on the radio, is two people talking about monster rights, and everything with politics. You flick through the book, not really paying attention to the radio. Then you see it. 

Lights cascading down the side of a mountain, a quite easily visible divide between the two parts of the city. Mt. Ebbot city, home of monsters. The human side is filled with large skyscrapers, while the monster side has few; but has an easily see-able MTT poster that lights up, and is filled with shining love hearts and poses by the one and only Mettaton himself. You don't know much about him, but he seems like a cool guy you guess. 

"Now arriving at Mount Ebbot, please watch your step when exiting the bus." You look at Katelynn, who's just about stirring. You throw your bag over your shoulder, and then look to her as she begins to stretch. "What'd he say?" She yawns, and you roll your eyes. "We're at Mount Ebbot." You turn and look down the bus. "Bye." With that, you exit out into the cold morning. It's still dark, you realise, and looking around you see a door that leads into the station. Maybe they have a cafe in there? You haven't eaten since school. You shoulda grabbed something from the cafe at the first station....

Walking into the station, you notice empty chairs and a few tables scattered nearer to the left side. Then, you notice, there's a bar there, with a few stools. Behind that bar is a....cat monster of some description. He looks down trodden. And then, suddenly, he smiles broadly, and starts..shaking? You approach. "Are you alright?" You ask. He laughs slightly, and suddenly is really chill.

"Yeah, Im good. I'm 19 years old and I've already wasted my life." He then grins, "what can I get you?" He's shaking again. You feel...apprehensive, but keep talkign anyways. "I'll take whatever tastes good right now. Also, weird question, anywhere like...B&Q around here?" 

"You can have a sausage roll if you want. Everything else tastes like cardboard." He's back to looking down. This cat has serious issues, you wonder if humans made him this way. "Sure." You say, and he dissapears off somewhere, before coming back. Before he hands it to you, he picks something up from behind the counter. A shaker filled with blue dust. "You're human right?" He asks, and you shrug. He looks confused. 

"Uhm." He looks panicky. "DO i put it on or not then?" He asks, and you shrug again. This is getting cruel now you should stop. "B-but what if-" You hold up a hand. 

"I'm mostly human. I don't need the blue stuff. Sorry for the panic." He calms, and just nods. You shimmy the bag off your shoulder, and take out some coins. There's about £3 in your palm. "How much?" You ask, and he thinks for a moment. 

"Usually about 15 gold, so... £2? I dont know the exchange rates very well, little buddy." You pass him £3, which he takes and puts in a jar? Do they not have a register? Well, it is the monster part of the city. "You wanted to know where a hardware store is right?" He takes off his hat, and comes around to sit next to you at the bar, you turn to him, tearing apart the roll with your sharp teeth. You nod. "What for? I mean, well... not many people take a bus trip just to go to hardware store. That bus comes all the way from Gravesend doesn't it?" He asks, pointing outside, shaking. You finish the remainder of the pastry, before wiping your mouth with your sleeve and turning to him. 

"I need to get away from people. So I decided to come live with monsters instead. 'Part from, I don't have a house, so Imma go camp on the mountain." You say, shrugging. He looks nervous. "Well!" He says, really high pitched. "There's a Mettaton Hardware shop nearby! It sells robot parts and stuff, there might be a tent there! WHO KNOWS?!" You smile at him. 

"Thanks." With that, you stand up, and walk over to the door. "Wait!" He calls back, and you turn around. He points to his head, where his ears are. 

"While you were talking, your hat." You look up, and one of your ears twitched so much it came out of the hat. CRAP! You quickly fix it. "Uhm, dont tell anyone!" You shout, embarrassed. He shrugs. "Won't do. But I get what you meant now. See ya." You exit out, and mentally start kicking yourself. Stupid stupid stupid. You walk down the streets, on the look for a hardware store. Something tells you there wont be one near here, but that there's a cafe and a house where it constantly snows instead. 

You walk so absent mindedly, as you turn the corner you walk into a skeleton, so hard you fall to the ground. Grabbing your hat, you fall onto your bag, and growl slightly. The ground is wet, and right now you are displeased with the situation. You quickly get up, ignoring the outstretched hand of the skeleton, and wipe yourself down with your hands before looking at him. 

"Sorry." He says, and something feels off about him. He looks downcast, and although you don't know the skeleton, you feel bad for him. 

"It's whatever, Sans." You shrug, and he just looks at you. "What? Have I got something on my face?" You ask, and he just keeps...blinking. How do skeletons even do that? "Uh, whatever, girly..." He starts to walk past, and you watch him go. "I'll see you around, ______." He turns a corner, and the streetlight above flickers off, as the sky lightens. 

What the hell?


	16. Square One

Meanwhile, in the midst of nowhere...

  
A garbled noise reaches the young childs ears. You watch from a distance, feeling the void surround you. Who are you? Well, that's a question for another day. You watch the small child sleeping, their face pasty white and their hair reduced to a charcoal greyness. The doctor, Gaster - what remains of them, atleast - stands watch over the child.

You smirk to yourself, thinking back to what happened. She doesn't seem to remember, afterall. Maybe she'll figure it out. You wonder if the same thing can happen twice. If she can do it, why can't you? It frustrates you. Her stupid smiley face, stupid red eyes - everything. It's all her fault. Apart from she isn't a girl - she is really a they. No wonder your parents hated her, she's so stupid. So naeive. But then again, you both were.

"I know you are here." The garbled voice speaks, and you partly materialise, black dripping from every crevice. Your eyes, your mouth, fingernails and long hair. The whole in your chest aches, and you smile at the man, towering over you. "I was just observing. Don't mind me." You turn to the small child. Sick. "Wow, they really ARE stupid, aren't they?" You laugh, a hollow laugh, distorted and jagged. Like a knife hastily carved from a rock, plunged into an innocent childs chest.

The man bashes your hand away, as it was hovering over the childs head. Their name was Frisk - right? "You really are stupid..." It's like they didn't know what she was. A monster. How did this happen, anyways? You mutter. It doesnt matter, not now. "See you later, Frisk." You turn, and walk into the endless void. It goes on forever, but yet, there's no entrance or exit. Only death. Or...That.

"Thanks." You whisper, far enough away. Closing your eyes, you disappear. Time to say good morning.

 

\------

  
You woke up under a large tree, cold and thankful it hadn't started raining. 

You decide to go find the store, and see if they have a tent or anything else you'll need. 

You tap the tree as a thanks, before heading down the mountain. It was a really big, really old tree, but something told you it was new. Mostly the fact that it had a sign saying it had been planted about 3 years ago, in commemoration of some binding or something between two people. Girls, actually. Who though? You didn't really care.

You kept thinking about the tree as you started approaching the city. It was pretty interesting, as it was almost summer, and the trees were haulting their blossoming, however that one seemt to be constantly in bloom. Maybe it's magic - but if it were planted 3 years ago, then it couldn't be monsters. You shrug to yourself.

You walk through the monster district, mostly empty in the early morning, feeling ever so slightly out of place. There are spray painted walls filled with racist slurs and profanity, and you can smell fresh paint on many, many houses. There are even metal shutters on most apartment buildings, and litter fills the streets. Is this what they were expecting on the surface? Really? This? The thought upsets you. You were, ever so slightly, one of their kind, afterall. You see several wanted posters, but one of them catches your eye ever so slightly more than the others.

A small bar, with the name GRILLBYS written on a wooden slate in fiery orange catches your attention easily. The lights are off inside, but the sign is still illuminated somehow. The title - saying HELP in bright red - has fire drawn peeling off the letters, and then underneath has the job descriptions. If you had a phone, you would take a picture for later, however you don't right now. Ergo, you must memorise it.

"Grillbys, help wanted. Humans or monsters accepted, must be over 18, work experience not required. Inquire within for more details. Opens 11am while late." You read outloud. Looking up, you have no idea what time it is. About 8? So, three hours. Alright, how to entertain yourself for three hours? That's a long time. Well, for one, you need to check the DIY store - it's not easy to miss, its bright pink, and has a homosexual robot plastred all over the front. But before that, food. Food is a thing that you need to get, your stomach hastily reminds you, with an ache.

You keep walking, and eventually, you're back near the bus station, you think. The area is semi familiar, but then again, so was the monster town - especially the bar - and you'd never even been there before! You wonder if maybe, it's just because you have cat ears. And a tail. Which kinda makes you inclined to enjoy any place where you could look like...well, a freak, and not get weird looks. Because, well, everyone else was a bit odd too. And that, made you quite happy. You even considered taking off your hat. However, you were against the idea.

The idea of being on your own, you realised as you looked for a cafe or nearby place filled with food, was actually quite terrifying. Especially just sleeping out in the open. But hey, he won't think about tracking up a mountain to find you. Nope. Besides, it was a fairly enclosed area you were in...you hoped.

Eventually, you found a cafe. It was named B and C's cutie-cool cafe (with Bratty and Catty in smaller letters underneath the B and C). Entering, you could smell bacon. Bacon, is your number #1 favourite food. Why? You don't know. Its just - the crispiness. The tenderness. You walk up to the counter, to have a fish lady looking at you, a little off. Well, a human, in a monster cafe, yeah bit suspicious. "What can I get you." She says it in a matteer of fact way. You try to smile, and reply.

"Just a bacon sandwich and a coffee, thanks." You fish the money out of your bag, and hand it over. She wanders off after putting your money into the register, and you go and sit as far away from everyone else as possible. A corner. Perfect. You look around, and soon enough, the fish lady - named Undyne from the name on her name tag - wanders out, holding a tray. She places it down. "Thanks for ordering my food. Mind if I ask your name?" She seems a little bit less skeptical now, pulling up a chair. She wants to talk to you? Okay.

"I'm _______." You say, simply, taking a sip of your coffee. You instantly regret it. Hot. She laughs slightly, and taps you on the arm playfully. "I'm Undyne. You cool with monsters?" She asks, and you just nod, noww biting into your bacon sandwich. This is a good sandwich. This may well the best freaking sandwich you've ever tasted. Better not tell her that.

"I don't see why I wouldn't be cool with monsters. You guys are pretty awesome." At making sandwiches. But in general, that too. You finish the sandwich rather quickly. Undyne laughs, patting you on the back. "Thanks! Most humans...don't like our kind." She says it nervously, and you just shrug.

"Oh well. Guess I'm not most humans." The door chimes, something you did not notice happen when you walked through. Huh. In through the door, enters several monsters. One a tall goat lady, another tall skeleton (with a familiar blue hoodie draped over his shoulder...snoring?) and a very yellowey dinosaur. For some reason, being around these guys doesn't make you that nervous. It was almost like you already knew them all.

"Guys, over here!" Undyne calls them over, waving her arms. They all sit down at the table, the tall skeleton throwing the hoodie into a chair beside him. You realise that that hoodie, was infact a smaller creature made of bone - and had bumped into you yesterday. He was quite blatantly asleep. You look at the taller one more closely. He wears a t-shirt saying 'COOL DUDE' in crude papyrus font, and then in the corner a 'hi' in comic sans.

The dinosaur was nervously fidgeting with her hands, in a white labcoat stained with various things. She sat next to Undyne, blushing slightly. Cute. Then, finally, there was a goat women in a purple dress. What you didn't notice was the pale faced, red eyed girl sat on her lap. She wears a sweater with green and yellow stripes, and looks up at you innocently. "Hey guys, meet _____." Undyne introduces you, and each monster says hello.

The large skeleton - Papyrus - is very loud, and somehow manages to yell-whisper about his brother, Sans. You didn't mention how he ran into you yesterday. "MY BROTHER SAYS HE RAN INTO A HUMAN JUST LIKE YOU YESTERDAY, _____! MAYBE IT WAS YOUR DOPPELGANGER!" Papyrus turns to you, and you shrug.

"Or, y'know, it can just actually be her. If you didn't hear my bro, I'm sans. Sans the skeleton. Nice to meet you, kiddo." He waves hello lazily, and you can see...something in the white pinpricks of his eyes. It makes you want to pat him on the back. But you don't. Besides, as much as you pity him...you can't help but feel a little bit off sitting so close to him. You listen to the monsters converse about their day; Undyne eventually leaving and coming back with food. The little munchkin, named Chara, gets their own chair, and starts piling on jam onto some bread. You notice Sans glaring at the child, who sticks her tongue out to the monster while Toriel converses with the small dinosaur named Alphys.

Eventually, the small child starts staring at you, a creepy grin plastered on their face. Jam smeared on their face. You put down your coffee cup, because suddenly you don't feel like you exactly want to be here anymore. Because something feels wrong. Slowly, you go and grab your bag. It's got to have been almost an hour now, you can just go and wander around for a bit right?

"Hey, Undyne, I've gotta go. I need to go check if this stores open?" You say, and she nods, smiling.

"Alright then. See you around, k?" She grins,and you nod, stepping out into the cool morning air. The sun has risen in the sky, and there are minimal clouds around. You set off in search of the hardware store. 


	17. Other world

 

You walk through the park, taking in the trees, the familiar breeze, the vacant air of fear that hangs over the town you once inhabited. Now, there is serenity, an air of newcomings, and as the cold nips at your skin in the early morning light, for the first time in a while... you smile. You dont know why, or where it came from, the sense of familiarity hanging here, as if it were almost a home for you already.

And although you sleep under the stars without a single belonging to your name but the things on your back and the small meager amount of money in your pocket....you feel like this is where you should've been all this time. Time you spent waiting, going through hell day after day, and going back to the same dark house, filled with the voices and faces of strangers - of people who don't know your story, and peoples whos story you didn't know.

Now as you stand silently, looking at the playpark, you feel like there's a small absense. A memory, a flicker, of something. It's missing, but you're not sure what it is. A sudden breeze rustles the trees around you, and you flinch instinctively as something passes your feet, in the wind. Reaching out your hand, it snags on it, and you catch it. It's crumpled, covered in stains that look like raindrops, and a muddy footprint. On the back, of which you are currently looking at, in red marker there is just one word.

 

You turn it over, to see a picture, reading aloud the back as you do.

 

'Remember.'

 

\----

_"____! C'mon lets take a picture!" A small child tugs at your blue and purple striped sweater, holding a brand new polaroid camera. You hear vibrations in your mind, which speak to you like a voic. Around, there is glitter and wrapping paper, the snow outside is thick. You're inside a large apartment, with a new floral rug on the floor - a housewarming present. Two skeletal bodies by the fire, and you, sitting on the blue sofa. The child looks up at you expectantly._

 

_"I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to have one photo with them would it?" A goat lady - Toriel - walks in from the kitchen behind you, setting down a tray of hot chocolate mugs with marshmellows peppered in the top, with extra cream and even sprinkles. You jockingly sigh, and smile at the child, of whom you know as Frisk. "Fine, but just one!" You say, and they eagerly jump into your lap. "Smile!" They lean in close to you, and you smile, winking slightly for effect. Behind you, you notice two people quickly jump as Frisk takes the photo._

 

_"Chara!" Frisk says happily, and the small, paler child with a green sweater grins at them. Beside them is Sans, laily leaning on the sofa as if he'd been there all along._

 

_"I never pass up an oppertunity to photo bomb, Frisk. You know that! Gotta have a little fun." They smile mischeviously, and Toriel ruffles their hair, smiling down at them. You look at Sans smiling slightly. "And whats your excuse exactly?" You ask, and he just shrugs._

_"Don't have one." He says, and Papyrus runs past. You notice he's chasing after a small white dog. Always distracting, thats Papyrus for you, but its cute, so everyone lets it slide._

 

_"Hows the puppy paps?" You ask, as he snatches up the puppy in his gloved hands and proudly holds it up, beaming at you with his skeletal teeth. He's like a small child sometimes._

 

_"It is the bestest present ever! As are all of my presents! The great Papyrus is very grateful to have friends like you humans!" He cuddles the puppy close to his face and it licks him. They seem to work oddly well together, you think. "Ease up on the hugging there bro, remember human dogs are like humans, squishy." Sans notes, speaking in his lazy tone, masking something. You can't tell if he's happy, or if he's worrying again._

 

_He worries a lot._

 

_"Sans?" You say, turning to him. He meets your gaze, and you see his eyes flicker. Chara and Frisk have left now, so it's just you and him, staring. You were right to be worried. "____?" He asks, and you blink, turning away._

 

_"It's nothing." You say, picking up a hot chocolate. It burns your mouth, and you sigh._

 

\-------

 

Your knees buckle beneath you, and your head suddenly becomes dizzy. You're disorientated as you suddenly fall to the ground, head first. SLAM.

You hit the ground with a thud, and the picture becomes loose in your hands, you lose grip of it. You try to sit up, but you become dizzy and sick, and are thrown against your will back onto the concrete. Your head hurts, and you think you mightve scraped it slightly. Damn concrete.

After a brief moment, you sit back up, and slowly climb to your feet looking around for the picture. You find it, and stuff it in your pocket, mumbling aloud:

'what the heck was that...'

 

A brief whooshing noise and a spark of blue light erupts behind you, and you turn so fast you think you're going to fall over again. But this time, your arms are jerked forward and you are hastily brought upright.

 

"Are you alright?" Its the smaller skeleton. You shake yourself off slightly, and try to look at your forehead for any scrapes or anything, feeling it with your right hand.

 

"Y-yeah..." You manage to stutter out. "I'm fine...Hurt my head, but I'm fine." You say, and he looks up at your head.

"You're bleeding." He points out. You remove a hand from your head, which has slight blood on it. Nothing major. You wipe your forehead with your sleeve.

"It'll be fine." You say, shrugging it off. Where did he even come from? Why was he here? Was that photo his?

Why were you in it?

 

"Humans aren't supposed to bleed." He says simply, sounding both concerned and uninterested at the same time. How thats possible is almost beyond you, but it must be, because its happening right now! You stare at him for a moment.

"Well, they can. I'll be fine, Sans. You can go, don't you have a job or something?" You say, waving your hand. He just casually shrugs.

 

"Maybe."


	18. Camping Supplies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically a filler chapter. The next few are, sorry ^-^;;;;

"Sans, really I'm fine." You say, feeling a small twitching of your left ear under your cap now, as you look at the , mildly, annoying skeleton. Something about him just made you...mad. Down to the bone, almost. That was a pun. You groan aloud at the fact.

 

"What was that for, cat girl?" Cat girl. Yeap, really dislike this guy!

 

"Nothing. Look, I have to go somewhere. Can we resume this arguement later?" You ask, and he shrugs. What is his deal again?

 

Where'd this sudden anger come from anyways? You were fine just a minute ago. He can't get under your skin that quick, can he? No, probably not. He's just a stranger. You dont even know this guy, why get mad at him? Mind, with that sight a minute ago, he might not be as unfamiliar as you think he is...

 

"Well, I should be going now. Gotta go do my job right?" He chuckles, almost to himself and turns away, walking a ways down the path before stopping. You watch as he turns to the side slowly, looking at the floor. "Also, you should give that photo back. It doesn't do good to keep things that dont belong to you." You blink, your blood running cold as ice all of a sudden. A flash of blue shocks the air before you, and suddenly he's gone.

 

You stare at where his skeletal form stood less than a moment before, confused. You don't like that. You don't like that at all.

* * *

 

 

YOU MAKE IT TO THE HARDWARE STORE, AND FEEL LIKE YOU DESERVE A TROPHY.

 

Took a while, and many times you got lost. Which is saying something, because really, the monster district is quite small, and this particular store was only about 5 minutes away from the park splitting the two. Walking into the hardware store, plastered in pink with a flashy sign saying 'MTT HARDWARE STORE AND EMPORIUM' , you're met with a familiar face, who's about to speak, and looks really nervous, but then suddenly switches to be super chilled out.

  
"WELCOME T- Oh! Hello cosplay girl!" Its the nervouss garbled mess of a cat from the bus station. You wave slightly. You're too worried about making sure he doesnt blow up from just talking with you you don't even notice the fact he called you a cosplay girl.

 

"Hey, I didn't know you worked more than one job?" You say, and he shrugs, suddenly mellowing out again.

 

"Well, gotta pay the bills somehow little buddy, besides I started today. ANYWAYS! What caann I get you?!" He says, shaking like mad. Someone should give this guy a session with a therapist, talk to someone, whatevers going on there definitely isn't healthy, for a human or a monster. "Tent, maybe some stuff to cook food, water purifier tablets, the like." You say, trying to think of what you could really use. "Oh, and definitely a sleeping bag."

 

"Caping supplies then...that way! THERE you go!?" He waves his weirdly mangled hands at a section over in the corner, with tents set out as examples, and a variety of garden furniture. "Thanks dude."  You walk over, and then take out the remaining money from your pocket. There's still about £120 in notes, so you didn't lose any money from now and yesterday which is good.

 

* * *

 

 

About 20 minutes later, you've decided on a small 2 man tent - which on its own is £30, yeesh - a portable hot plate, a black and green (hideous, really) sleeping bag; aswell as a small pillow and 100 water purification tablets in a bottle. It's quite costly in total, and handing over the money to the nervous wreck of a cashier, he decides to make small talk. Oh fun.

 

"So, about your ears..." So much fun! "Did you get them surgically attatched or are they on a band or something? Since you're human and all, you must be really into that stuff Undyne and Alphys watch...Aneem right? Or is it anime?! UHM. I DONT KNOW. Maybe?!" He starts shaking nervously, and you start to laugh slightly. He thinks that you got cat ears sugically attatched to your head because you like anime? Actually....people had horns attatched to their head before.

 

Maybe you should play along.

 

"It's anime. And yeah, I did, about...2 years ago maybe?" You hope this is a convincing lie, and as you speak, you feel your sins crawling on your back, and you've sinned a lot. "Although nowadays it causes conflict with some people so I decided to hide them..." You feel your cat ears twitch, and your tail sway slightly. Lying is bad, but it's starting to quickly become second nature...haha...

 

"OH! Well!? THATS Cool little buddy." He then charges you for the items, and you put them in a bag after paying. "You shouldn't feel ashamed of them though! HEY! If you ever get onto the mosnter side of TOWN why DOnt you just take OFf your hat?!" He suggests, and you shrug.

 

"I'll think about it sometimes. Later...uh, whats your name?" You never asked his name. You feel kind of bad.

 

"Just call me BP." He says, suddenly mellow. You nod.

 

"Okay, BP, well, it was nice talking to you, bye!" You say, and walk out of the shop. Once you're out, you look up at the sky. You feel you'll be doing that a lot. You should've gotten a bigger backpack, you think, trying to put everything in/on this one is going to prove difficult. You walk down the road, trying to find your way back up the mountain. You feel like you should have a while to figure out how to walk around without getting lost. 

 

Then you remember that poster on that bar. What was the name again? Grillbys? You should probably check it out, really. You start to head off in the direction of the main monster district, back near where ever the bus station was.

 

* * *

 

 

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Standing at a door.   
> Not standing at a door.  
> Forgetting how humans work.

You stood at the door for about 10 minutes.

 

...

 

You turned and started walking back up the mountain.

...

......

............

Okay, now, you're not usually the person to just...quit, really.

You can just...try tommorow. You have to make your tent and set up your new 'home', you can't spend all day until it gets dark out. You didn't even buy anything to start a fire, and a hotplate doesn't exactly set things on fire easily. You did buy batteries, but....yeah, blowing yourself up with batteries doesnt sound like an ideal situation. You should really think things through more...

 

"Soo, y'know Grillby could see you at the door right? You shoulda just walked in kid." That familiar voice again. You feel anger boiling underneath your skin again, and turning around to face him you want to say something, anything to make him-

 

"ARE YOU STALKING ME."

 

...Possible coulda been  something better than that. Well...too late now.

 

He laughs in retort, and shrugs. "Dont think so. I go there all the time, saw you through the window. Thought I'd come say hi." You scoff, crossing your arms, glancing off to the side. How is he so relaxed all the time? Why does he keep popping up everywhere anyways? "Yeah, well....don't." You say, feeling the plastic handle of the bag in your hand, trying to ditract yourself. No need to get so worked up, it's a stranger. Just, a stranger.

 

"Yeah well...you should apply for it if you need work. Grillbs could use some help too. Besides, then you'd get to spend more time around the amazing sans~" He says the last part with equal amount of sarcasm and energy that you can't help but laugh slightly and smirk.

 

"Yeah, cause thats totally what I'd want from a job, bonehead."

"Well of course, it's not everyday that you get to meet a skeleton as lazy as myself."

"So pretentious, be careful you might turn into a homosexual robot."

"Hey, atleast if I were a robot I wouldn't leave a trail of glitter everywhere I went."

"How's that a bad thing? Glitters great."

"Yeah, when its not all over everything you own. You know how much glitter I have to get out of Paps' shirts kid?"

 

He grumbles, and you laugh, leaning against a wall. You smile at the skeleton.

 

"Yeah yeah whatever you say skelebone man." You shake your head slightly, and he chuckles, and the conversation dwindles down to nothing. You both stand there for a moment.

 

"So...You live on the mountain? Didn't know there were houses up there." He states simply, you glance behind you.

 

"Oh. Well....I'm kinda camping right now. It's....fun. I should get going before it gets late." You adjust your cap slightly, itching to take it off. You silently seethe as you feel your ears twitch impatiently. "See you later Sans." You kind-of wave at the skeleton, and turn to walk away.

 

"Wait. Kid." He says, and you turn around to face him again. "You should seriously apply for the place at Grillbys. He's a good boss." He states, and you shrug.

 

"I'll....think about it Sans. Look, I need to get going. See you." You turn, and as you do a flicker of blue appears. You feel the lack of a presence all of a sudden, and know he's gone. You feel slightly frustrated as you begin your treck up the mountain. Of which, is a lot harder than it felt yesterday. What just happened? Well...you had a conversation with Sans. And he was...actually he wasn't so bad. Almost tolerable.

 

But the last part...it felt almost like pity. And something you really, really dont like, is pity. Your skin crawls slightly when you think about people pitying you. You don't need pity. But, he didn't mean to be mean - he was just trying to be genuine. Which, you feel, is something he isnt very often - if the grin is anything to go by.

 

You make it to the tree, still standing tall and old, worn even. Which, again, seemt...weird and odd.

 

"Lets do this!" A voice from your own thoughts seemingly slips out into the open air as you start to unpack your camping supplies and get ready for the long day ahead. Time sure does pass quickly here... You think back to your past life - a suffocating nothingness with the only change being the unfortunate situations you had been placed in against your will. You think about how, if someone wanted to really get you, to kill you or hurt you, then maybe right now would be the best time. Camping out on the top of a mountain, away from civilization, near where all those children had dissappeared those years ago.

 

Your thoughts wander to those children. They had all killed themselves - that's what all the newspapers and tabloids said. That they all killed themselves, and were found by monsters in the underground, who took their souls and bodies to Asgore. The king. Who wanted to use their souls to break the barrier, apart from Frisk did it. Which begs several questions, of how come if Frisk survived nobody else did? Where are they even buried? Thinking about it.. were they ever buried?

 

What even was the barrier?

 

You eventually finish putting up the tent, and secure it into place. Now filled with questions, you climb inside and set to work on setting out the sleeping bag and putting the hotplate in the corner. Its a two man tent, so you have a bit of space, luckily. You manage to fit everything inside, and then realise - you've had nothing to eat since morning. Looking outside, it was starting to get dark.

 

That meant two things - 1: It would be dark soon. 2: The stores shut soon, if they weren't already. Well...shit. Now you had two options.

 

You could either go out at the chance of getting lost when it gets dark, or you could just starve it out till morning. Now, the logical one, for most people, would be to wait it out. It's not like you're starving. You however, being a cat who works on instinct and....basically instinct alone - choose....the first one.

 

Unzipping your tent, you grab the surprisingly light backpack with all your stuff now neatly in the tent, and get out. It's almost sunset. You padlock up the tent - and wonder as you do why the tent came with padlocks, but be slightly grateful as it meant there was less of a chance of someone stealing your stuff, even though they could pick up your tent manually. But that would be too much work, so who would do that? - and then you begin your journey down the hill.

 

 


	20. Kechup Is The Best Drink

You wonder if you could make it back up the mountain. You look at the sun, and decide that thats...definitely a no. Well shit. Maybe you can find an off license with some lighters, if you don't get carded.

And you would most definitely get carded - not to mention accidentally set yourself on fire trying to use something as a torch.

 

You grumble slightly, in defeat, as your stomach rumbles. Well...time to go look for something to eat you suppose. Thats when you see Grillbys. Ohhh great. Well, why the hell not...

 

* * *

 

 

For some reason, the bar feels exactly like you thought it would, and yet entirely different.

 

Around, there's several monsters busying themselves with eating, and you notice that there's a surprising lack of silence, just a few dodgy glances - but apart from that nobody seems to even notice your presence. In the corner, some dogs are playing poker, one even in armor. You wonder what jobs they do, for a second. Then, walking closer to the bar, you realise Sans wasn't lying, actually. Because there he is. Drinking...ketchup.

 

You really wish you could be surprised. You do! You can't. It's Sans. Somehow ketchup drinking fits the comedian to a tee. You slowly slide into a seat at the other end of the bar, not wanting him to notice your presence. Just get some food, get out, go home.

 

"Hey kiddo." Suddenly, a skeleton in a blue hoodie is sat next to you, and you have to blink to make sure he's really there. How does he do that anyways?

 

"You are- that is-..." You close your eyes for a second and try to compose your thoughts. "Hello, Sans." You say, simply. He looks at you with that same grin on his face, and drinks the ketchup bottle. Why.

 

"So what brings you to Grillbys?" He asks, leaning on the bar. You put your own arms on the bar, and stare down at them.

 

"I was hungry, and this was the first place I saw, so....here I am?" You say, unsure of what really to say. You just want dinner, damn it! Is that so hard to understand? Actually, for a skeleton thats favourite drink seems to be a condiment....that might be. Just maybe. "Not the job interview then?" He asks. You shake your head, and look away. You don't know why but you feel almost ashamed for not applying for the job, and that's even without Sans' pressuring. "Why not? _**Do you hate monsters?**_ "

 

And there is the malicious intent that makes you want to jump ship and drown yourself. You feel yourself become cold and prickly all over. "No no no! Of course I dont hate monsters! I'm-" You cut yourself off mid sentence, feeling your cat ears under your hat, your tail....You guess you're not really a monster. Or a human.

 

"You're what kid? A monster hater? Thats how I see it right now. If thats wrong, then correct me." He's still. Grinning. You really want to wipe that smug, forced... _scared_ look off his face.

 

"I don't hate monsters, it's just...I haven't had a job in ages. Plus with how my living situation is at the moment Im not exactly the most employable person, I'm barely keeping myself together as it is, having to put a job ontop of that? I'd feel bad for Grillby. Plus...People aren't exactly accepting of those who work alongside monsters. I dont want my tent to be set on fire and burn alive. I know thats a fear that monsters feel all the time...and Im not saying they should, Im just saying, I dont want to put myself at any more risk. Ive had some bad experiences, and I dont really want more to add onto that list, Sans. Really - I have nothing against you or your friends, I find them quite cool."

 

And you just probably said 1- more than you should have, and 2- a complete mini speech that is mostly just a garbled mess of nonsense. Greeatt. The fiery bartender comes out from the back room, holding a tray and a ketchup bottle. He swings past, passing the ketchup to Sans. You....didn't even notice he'd finished the bottle. He gives you a quick glance, and he looks...skeptical, as he turns back to Sans.

 

Then he's gone. And now the bartender - who you are presuming btw, is Grillby - thinks your a weirdo too. You don't blame him. Sans pops the lid to the ketchup bottle, and just muses over what you've said for a while. "I see." He says, finally, and you just feel awkward and want to die or go home or really be anywhere but here right now because being judged by a skeleton is not your definition of fun at all.

 

"Should I just go?" You ask, glancing at the door. Suddenly you aren't so hungry anymore.

 

"No, you should stay. You're hungry right? Hey Grillbz." Sans waves a hand, and the fiery bartender comes over. "Mind if we get two orders of burger?" He asks, and you just blink at him.

 

"What if I dont like burgers?" You ask, as Grillby walks off. Sans shrugs.

 

"You will. Trust me - Grillby makes the best burgers."

 

 


End file.
